Washington D.C., May 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Cardinal William H. Keeler has urged Congress to reject a bill, which would allow the use of federal funds to support research that involves the use of new human embryos from fertility clinics.
H.R. 810 would rescind the Bush administration’s policy of funding only research on embryonic stem-cell lines already in existence.
“Government has no business forcing taxpayers to become complicit in the direct destruction of human life at any stage,” Cardinal Keeler said in a May 17 letter to the House of Representatives. Cardinal Keeler is Chairman of the Committee for Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The cardinal noted that since 1995 Congress has passed — and presidents of both major parties have signed — annual riders insisting that early human embryos be protected from risk of harm or death in federally funded research projects.