Pastor Ed Shirrell
October 31st, 2006
Why I will be Voting “NO” on Amendment 2
We will be voting on the most important piece of legislation in my
lifetime next Week. Some have asked me to explain why I’m opposed to this
Amendment.
First,
let’s begin with some Basics about Stem Cells.
What is a Stem Cell?
A Stem Cell is the blueprint of what a human
life will be. The DNA inside that cell
is programmed to be who we will develop into.
There are Two Basic Types of Stem Cells
*
Embryonic Stem Cell – Embryonic stem
cells come from human embryos and form in the early days of human
development before individual cells receive their "assignment"—for
example, before they turn into blood, brain or hair cells. Scientists speculate
that these immature (or blank) cells can easily be coaxed into becoming any
number of cell types, thereby holding great promise for healing the human body,
with possible cures for diabetes and heart disease to treatments for burns and
spinal-cord injuries. However, harvesting these cells comes at a tremendous
price: A living, human embryo must be destroyed.
Embryo – (Webster) a living thing in it’s
earliest stages of development
Adult Stem Cells - on the other
hand, come from a variety of sources,
including the placenta, umbilical-cord blood, brain tissue, skin, bone marrow
and body fat. Harvesting these cells requires no destruction of human life. The
use of adult stem cells in medical treatment is not new. For years, leukemia
patients have obtained adult stem cells through bone-marrow transplants, and
cancer patients often receive their own "cleansed" stem cells after
chemotherapy. Adult stem cells have a proven track record of helping patients
in the healing process.
Adult stem cells have been used
over 3000 times for 45 different diseases…yet is rarely given press by the
media. ALL KNOWN medical stem cell therapies use adult stem cells. We as Christians are FOR Stem Cell research that comes from Adult stem cells, because it doesn’t require the destruction of a
human is needed.
We are AGAINST
Stem Cell research that comes from Embryonic Stem Cells – because that
requires the destruction of an embryo – a living thing at it’s earliest stage
of development.
Why I’m Opposed to Amendment #2:
#1 It is DECEPTIVE
* This
amendment is built on Deception and
Confusion. It is promoted as a
means to prevent cloning when it does the exact
opposite. It not only permits
cloning, it enshrines it in our State Constitution.
Normally SCNT –
somatic cell nuclear transfer – is synonymous
with human cloning. The amendment bans
the placement of the cloned human embryo
into the uterus, but not the cloning
of the embryo.
Embryo –
(Webster) a living thing in it’s earliest stages of development
* After implementation, it become human, yet before that,
it’s research material The material cloned for scientific procedure is HUMAN
LIFE. If not, it wouldn’t be useful.
The spin artist lawyers who wrote this amendment work for the biotech corporations. Instead of saying that human embryos will be
destroyed, they simply played a word game and now call it somatic cell nuclear
transfer. In plain English, it means destroying human
life at it’s earliest stages of development.
Embryonic stem cell research creates human beings for the
purpose of destroying them!
Poll after poll show
that Americans are against Cloning.
So the spin doctors, (attorneys) who work for the giant BioTech Industry
wrote an amendment, purposely left out
the word EMBRYO ( a living thing; a human at it’s earliest stage of
development ) and then changed the definition
of CLONING and call it SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer).
#2 It will Exploit and Hurt Women Who will Sell
their Eggs
* In one part of the amendment it says no selling, yet in another it states
women can sell their eggs for Embryonic Stem Cell Research. It will allow fertility clinics to pay women
any amount of money for their eggs, creating a mini-gold rush in human tissue.
* The harvesting of human eggs is difficult
and unnatural and is often dangerous
to the woman. The process involves
pumping women full of hormones and fertility drugs so that their ovaries will
release as many as 15 eggs at one
time. Normally only one egg is released
at a time. Women can die from this procedure and risk fertility problems for
their future.
* This amendment contains a legal loophole that would shield cloning researchers from legal
liability of any women hurt in this procedure.
#3 It will Use Taxpayer Funds for Special Interest Bio
Tech Firms?
* It forces taxpayer to pay for research who are morally
against this amendment. Did you know
that those in research today with adult
stem cell research have no Patents. They
won’t be able to profit from the research. Yet, on Embryonic Stem Cell research – there will be patents which have the potential to reap billions of dollars.
* If this is so good for the bio-tech firms, then why
aren’t they investing their multi-millions into this field? Two
major reasons private money has not gone into Stem Cell Research in mass: #1 It’s highly speculative and treatments may
not come for decades.
#2 Moral stigma attached
to the destruction of human embryos.
* Why is it that 30
million dollars have been spent by the backers of Amend 2 and 97% has come
from one multi-billionaire couple in
KC area who are owners in the biotech industry?
Follow the money trail!
* Did you know this amendment cannot be changed by any
future laws, but can ONLY be changed by another Amendment?
#4 It is Emotionally Manipulative
* It has promised the HOLLOW
promise of Hope. In reality it’s more about HYPE than Hope. No research
to this day shows any fashion of embryonic stem cell for cures. Yet,
simultaneously, Adult Stem cell that has
resulted in numerous medical breakthroughs.
Adult stem cells have been used
over 3000 times for 45 different
diseases…yet is rarely given press by the media. It is preying
on the emotions of people through commercials. If you’re against this Amendment,
you’re against progress.
#5 It is
Ethically, Morally and Spiritually Wrong !
Embryonic stem cell research creates humans for the purpose of destroying them! Do we sell
our soul to heal bodies?
When does Life Begin?
Psalms 100:3 “Know that the
LORD is God. It is he who made us,
and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
* Do the ends justify the means? If so – will we create humans for spare parts?
Will we create humans so they can be
destroyed in order to help others?
Are we
going down the road the Nazis went down
– to do experimentation on humans saying that it will benefit others? Do we
take prisoners on death row and
harvest their organs and justify it by saying it will help others? No, because it’s wrong!
I urge you to Vote NO on Amendment #2. Again, this is the most important piece of
legislation that I have voted on in my life. I didn’t have a vote on abortion ( Roe vs.
Wade), but I can have a say on this issue concerning the destruction of
innocent human life.
Pastor
Ed Shirrell