Hatch backs research cloning. (Insider Report)."It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to stop calling Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a conservative -- at least on social issues," commented political analyst Lee Davidson of Salt Lake City's Deseret News for May 8th. "The final sign that Hatch has metamorphosed into a social-issue moderate came last week when he decided not only to support human cloning for research, but also to help lead the charge for it with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass." Regular readers of THE NEW AMERICAN have been aware for some time that Hatch reliably supports key liberal causes (see, for instance, the profile entitled "Liberal in Conservative Garb" in our October 9,2000 issue). Davidson notes that for more than a decade Hatch has been working closely with his "good friend" Ted Kennedy to devise "compromises on everything from day care funding to AIDS to homosexual rights to insurance for the poor." But when Hatch embraced embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. ES cells are pluripotent. experimentation -- which cannibalizes living human embryos for medical research -- it outraged his social conservative constituency in Utah. After vacillating over the issue of cloning for research, Hatch announced on April 30th that, after "countless hours of study, reflection and, yes, prayer," he would support human embryo cloning for research. "I come to this issue with a strong pro-life and pro-family record," boasted Hatch. This is true -- just as it is true that Benedict Arnold could boast of a strong pro-independence record when he wrote to John Andre, chief of staff to British General Sir Henry Clinton, offering to betray West Point. In the months before announcing his decision, Hatch had tirelessly flogged a sound bite intended to pacify pac·i·fy tr.v. pac·i·fied, pac·i·fy·ing, pac·i·fies 1. To ease the anger or agitation of. 2. To end war, fighting, or violence in; establish peace in. his critics among principled pro-lifers: "I believe that human life begins in the womb, not in a petri dish pe·tri dish n. A shallow circular dish with a loose-fitting cover, used to culture bacteria or other microorganisms. Petri dish a shallow, circular, glass or disposable plastic dish used to grow bacteria on solid media such as agar. or in a refrigerator." But as Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to end legalized Abortion in the United States. Founded in 1973, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. (NRLC NRLC National Right to Life Committee (since 1973; Washington, DC) NRLC National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property ) correctly notes, "There is no point when a human is not a human. A member of the human family exists whenever the complete genetic package is there." Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), cosponsor co·spon·sor tr.v. co·spon·sored, co·spon·sor·ing, co·spon·sors To function in the capacity of a joint sponsor of: corporations that cosponsored a marathon. n. of a measure to ban all human cloning, predicts that if the Hatch-sponsored bill becomes law it would "inevitably lead to the creation of human embryo farms where embryos will be grown to specification." Biotech labs would then be permitted "to clone countless human embryos and then kill them for their parts, or sacrifice them like lab rats in experimentation," adds NRLC's Douglas Johnson. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion