From the Family Research Council:
Put Patients First
The Senate is prepared to debate and vote on one of the largest annual government spending bills, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2008 (S.1710). The bill provides $606 billion for these agencies, $149.9 billion of which is discretionary spending. The bill is $9.6 billion beyond the President's request and will likely be vetoed. The good news is that pro-life provisions such as the Hyde Amendment are protected. Unfortunately, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) inserted a provision into the bill that would overturn the President's policy on funding stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos. Specifically, Section 520 of the bill allows the National Institutes of Health to fund research on embryonic stem cell lines created prior to June 15, 2007. President Bush's policy allows federal funding of embryonic stem cells lines that were obtained prior to August 9, 2001. It was based on the ethical principle that there should be no financial incentive to create and destroy human embryos for research. In contrast, passage of S.1710 would provide such incentives and require taxpayers to fund research that relies on destruction of human embryos, which is why I expect the President to veto it. Rather than fund research that destroys human embryos, Congress should prioritize funding of ethical stem cell research that is showing benefit in patients now. To that end, Congress should pass the bipartisan Patients First Act of 2007 sponsored by Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), and put patients first, not politics.
To find your specific senator to contact, just click here. Let your senator know that you don't want that provision put in by Senator Harkin.
