Casey Strikes A Blow for Theocracy

In a scene to repeated endlessly until this no-talent man shadow is removed from office, Bobby Casey Junior is backing the Bush Regime, this time it is on stem cells.

Senate Bill 5 is the bi-partisan Senate version of the bill that passed the House in January by a vote of 253-174. It is similar to the 2005 bill which passed the House and the Senate, but was vetoed by Bush on purely religious grounds.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. This reverses the theocratic limitation placed on federal funding of stem cell research by Bush.

The bill would limit research to stem cells that meet all three of the following requirements:

(1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment;

(2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and

(3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.

Did you get that? Under this bill, the only additional sources of stem cells from research would come from blastocysts recovered from the trash bin. These stem cells will "die" regardless if this bill is enacted.

Bobby Casey Junior chooses to ignore this fact, to ignore science, and to advance his own mythological constructs through the legislative process. He tells the AP {but not us, a search of his (pathetic) Senate website for the term "stem cell" produces no results} "I remain opposed to federal funding for research that involves the destruction of living embryos."

{An aside -- The AP article is written by a reporter either incompetent or a Casey supporter. The so-called "news report" opens with what could be the opening gaf of a Casey press release. With neither attribution to source, nor reported facts supporting the claim, the lead in this article reports, as if it were handed down from the Mount as fact: "After months of meetings with people on both sides of the stem cell debate, Sen. Bob Casey said Monday he will oppose a bill that would clear the way for government financing of new embryonic stem cell research." There are similar examples of poor journalism in nearly every gaf of this piece of crap posing as news. As you were.}

Bobby Casey Junior, after months of meetings (we've sent an email to Junior, asking for a list of those meetings -- which any real reporter would have done -- we'll let you know), has decided that it is more appropriate to destroy these little balls of cells by throwing them in the trash can than by developing potentially life saving scientific study. Junior says these blastocysts are human life. And on what science is this based? Let's hear from President Bush's own science adviser on that issue:

"Objections to embryonic stem-cell research are rooted in ethical principles", says White House science adviser Dr. John Marburger. In other words, there's no scientific basis to oppose stem cell research as the destruction of life -- the objections flow purely from religious dogma. Rather, Casey's position stems direct from the Roman Catholic dogma which he substitutes for logic and personal responsibility in his own life. In The ethics of funding embryonic stem cell research: a Catholic viewpoint, Richard M. Doerflinger, representing the US Conference on Catholic Bishops, gives the Casey/Catholic line: "Stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos is incompatible with Catholic moral principles, and with any ethic that gives serious weight to the moral status of the human embryo." Pure religion, no science. Casey wants to impose his religion on the rest of us.

The scientific community has long had mechanisms for resolving, on scientific bases, ethical dilemmas. When legislators like Junior start referring to their own mythological dogma to support legislative decision making, they are telling us that their religious beliefs are more important that everyone else's religious beliefs. They are telling us that they prefer theocratic to secular democracy. Junior is telling us that as a Senator he will advance his own Roman Catholic ideology over Constitutional principles.

{h/t to philly}

{Image Credit: Photo of Human Blastocyst like those used to gather stem cells, Institute for Stem Cell Research}

Contact Senator Casey:

Email: senator@casey.senate.gov
Fax: 202.228.0604
Phone: 202.224.6324
Casey's Senate Web Contact

Further Reading:

Philly, Bob Casey, You're an Asshole
Scientific American, Stem cell vote set for U.S. Congress this week
The Scientist, Senate to support stem cells -- again
Genetics Policy Institute, Stem Cell Folly - the Coleman-Isakson 'No Hope for Patients Act'
American Diabetes Association, Senate Should Send White House Strong Message of Support for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Reuters, Stem cell vote set for Congress this week
WaPo, Female Mice Stem Cells Better to Build Muscle
Salth Lake Tribune, Hatch: Stem cell fight should be pressed on
St. Petersburg Times, Stem cells are Congress' new call to arms
France24, US Senate to brave new Bush veto of stem-cell bill
Brisbane Times, Democrats prepare to fight Bush on stem cells
Washington Times, Senate stem-cell vote seen short of veto override
NY Daily News, Dems are close to stem-cell win

{UPDATE: This morning we sent an email to Larry Smar, Junior's Communications Director, and also to Sara Mabry, his scheduler, asking for a list of the meetings that Junior told the AP he had had over the last several months, regarding the stem-cell research issue. While we haven't had a response, after the emails were sent we had two SIX TEN (updated) separate visits from Washington, DC to the blog -- one THREE SEVEN (updated) using the Senate ISP and the others using a public ISP. While they are checking us out, again, we're not holding our breath for the information on the meetings.}