The latest news from the world of draconian science should have turned the culture of death on its ear – but so far, I have not heard a word from the human embryonic stem cell research cadre's guru – Mr. Michael J. Fox. I pray that I do, for it would be a blessing to hear Mr. Fox admit that there are better ways to research a treatment for Parkinson's than using the body parts of human embryos.
The developments of which I speak came to my attention via two articles. The first is here:
Jamie Thomson… told a theater full of UCSB students, faculty, and community members… that the real promise of this research lies in its ability to explain the human body's most guarded secrets… But he downplayed the more high-flying promises like transplantation. "It's less about transplantation than about understanding the human body," said Thomson… other nationally prominent panel members included Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; … and Lois Jovanovic, chief scientific officer and CEO of Sansum Diabetes Research Institute… noted… that 400,000 frozen embryos are destroyed every year in California.
The fact that someone has finally admitted that more than 400,000 children are "destroyed" should have raised such a clamor in America, not to mention the worldwide community, that the headlines would have been incredibly hard to ignore. But – I am sorry to say – such was not the case.
Now if we had been discussing a report that 400,000 two-year-olds were being brutally murdered in California annually, the entire nation would have been up in arms. However, because Professor Jovanovic is discussing human embryonic children, nobody seems to be concerned about the mounting death toll.
This is perhaps shocking to pro-life Americans who have worked with American Life League to expose the grisly side of in vitro fertilization. Sadly, the vast majority of pro-lifers do not acknowledge this practice, do not oppose in vitro fertilization and will not oppose it because it is not politically expedient to do so! I will never forget the discussion I had with one Catholic doctor – yes, I said Catholic – who told me that it really did not matter what the Church teaches about IVF – it is simply too popular a practice to oppose it!
Wow! With courage like that, is it any wonder we are losing?
Now, here is the second report I found today:
For the past decade, Advanced Cell Technology Inc. has claimed one spectacular success after another. The Worcester biotech firm said it… pioneered research that could one day be used to reverse the aging process and grow replacement body parts. And ACT said it cloned the first human embryo, a discovery that sparked headlines worldwide. But all the publicity likely backfired… Some scientists said some of ACT's claims were overstated. And a former ACT executive said the company's work in controversial areas such as [human embryonic] stem cell research and cloning scared away pharmaceutical firms and life sciences investors that traditionally fund young promising biotech companies.
Now, ACT could be on the verge of shutting down. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, the company warned that it doesn't have cash to continue operating after July 31 without raising additional money or drastically slashing operations. It reported $17 million in current liabilities, but only $1 million in cash and other current assets, an indication it could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.
ACT is one of the world's leading advocates of scientific research that uses "surplus" embryos – that is, human children who are viewed as expendable commodities. The lack of respect for the integrity of the human embryonic child is why they can pompously proclaim their success in cloning, replicating or otherwise dehumanizing the human person.
When I read that this company is near bankruptcy, I said a silent prayer of thanks to God, our Father, Who is also the author of human persons. To Him is due the glory, praise and gratitude for making a spectacle out of an arrogant group determined to make money from the bodies of dead human embryonic children.
It occurs to me, dear friends, that we may be on the cusp of witnessing a restoration of moral sanity in the United States. Perhaps it may happen that, as those who led the fight to dehumanize embryonic children suffer agonizing financial and ethical problems because of their "choices," others – even politicians – may come to see the value of respecting human dignity – unapologetically.
I have a suggestion for you! Why not e-mail or call ACT to congratulate them on their financial failure, encouraging them to accept this as a lesson in morality? The lesson is really a simple one: Destroying innocent human beings while treating them as mere objects carries a heavy cost.
That is why those who respect life and do so with joy are grateful to God for helping the ACT management see the error of their deadly ways. Or as famed pro-life physician/scientist Karl F. Gunning once said,
"Once you accept killing as a solution for a single problem, you will find tomorrow hundreds of problems for which killing can be seen as a solution."
