Phoenix, Ariz., Mar 12, 2009 / 02:26 am
President Barack Obama’s explanations of his decision to end restrictions on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research have been criticized by Bishop of Phoenix Thomas J. Olmsted, who has argued that the president’s pro-science rhetoric conceals “homicidal research” that violates the right to life.
Bishop Olmsted’s March 10 column in the Catholic Sun followed the president’s March 9 executive order expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
According to the bishop, the decision means that American taxpayers will be funding “the killing of human beings at a very early stage in their lives” so that scientific research can use them for experiments that may or may not have positive results.
“We U.S. taxpayers will now be forced to pay, whether we wish to or not, for the killing of our youngest brothers and sisters on the dubious hypothesis that their murders might, in the future, benefit others. Why did President Obama make this decision?” Bishop Olmsted asked.