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News Release: Michigan Catholic Conference Calls for Honest Dialogue in Embryonic Stem Cell/Human Cloning Debate

MCC Lists Four Points That Must be Addressed in Stem Cell/Cloning Discussion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2006

(LANSING)—Michigan Catholic Conference today is calling on the administration and legislators to engage in honest and open dialogue with the residents of Michigan regarding measures that support embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. According to the Conference, supporters of such legislation have failed to communicate to the public the Pandora’s box of ethical and moral issues that accompany legislation that has been introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

“It is utterly disingenuous for any elected official to discuss embryonic stem cell research and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer without addressing the fact that human embryos must be purposefully cloned and killed for the process to be successful,” said Paul A. Long, MCC Vice President for Public Policy. “By using euphemisms such as ‘therapeutic cloning,’ or by expressing the need to strengthen an existing human cloning ban, supporters of these measures are deceiving the public by completely avoiding the hard-to-swallow details.”

Michigan Catholic Conference has repeatedly expressed its support for research using adult stem cells and has pointed out that this process is helping to treat over 70 different conditions, including many auto-immune diseases and various forms of cancer. Such research is not only proven, it is also conducted in a manner that presents neither the ethical nor moral dilemmas that are associated with embryonic stem cell research. In order to support further ethical and proven research, legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would create a statewide cord blood bank, which allows for the storage and preservation of adult stem cells.

To encourage an honest debate on embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, Michigan Catholic Conference calls on the administration and legislators to address the following four points when discussing the issue:

“We encourage and welcome a forthright discussion on the merits of a human cloning policy change in the State of Michigan and call upon the administration and legislators to address the specific details of such a change. Michigan residents deserve to hear the truth from their elected officials,” said Long.

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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