NIH opens public comment on embryonic stem cell research guidelines

PLEASE NOTE:  THE DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS
SUBMISSION HAS ENDED. 

All letters received will be entered into the Federal Register and open for public
review in the coming weeks. 

(Original Action Alert Issued May 1, 2009)

URGENT – URGENT – URGENT!
ACTION ALERT: Stem Cell Funding open for Public Comment

Written comments must be received by NIH on or before May 26, 2009

The National Institutes of Health has requested public comments for its Draft Guidelines on Embryonic Stem Cell Research.  Comments may be registered either by US Mail or on-line using the following link: http://nihoerextra.nih.gov/stem_cells/add.htm

While the on-line form allows you to attach a document, it must be in .txt format, thus we recommend you compose your thoughts off line and then copy and paste them into the comments section.

Since the on-line form will ask you to “reference specific sections in the document, when applicable”, in order to assist you, we have pulled together some helpful talking points from the NIH guidelines and suggested responses we included in our own letter. (See link below)

TALKING POINTS!

The NIH states their intention is to create guidelines that are “ethically responsible, scientifically worthy, and conducted in accordance with applicable law”.  Following are some ideas on how to respond:

“Ethically responsible”

Destruction of human life for research purposes is not ethical, no matter what the perceived benefit may be.  The basic tenets of ethical principles state that “One must never do evil so that good may come from it.”  Destroying one human being to benefit another violates every moral principle known outside the third world and violates the moral and religious sensibilities of millions of taxpayers.  How can one consider any research to be ethical if it only benefits those who are not morally offended?  Hundreds of thousands of Americans are refusing to use vaccines produced from aborted fetal cell lines. Shouldn’t public tax dollars be used in a manner that benefits ALL Americans?

“Scientifically worthy”

Despite years of research and billions of dollars poured into embryonic stem cell research using private funds, to date, there has not been one single cure for any human illness using embryonic stem cells, while adult stem cells continue to provide cures for thousands of patients with over 70 diseases.  For a list of some of these treatments, see: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/315/5810/328b/DC1/1

In addition, embryonic stem cells have consistently proved that fatal tumors form whenever they are manipulated for use in treatments and because they are not patient-specific, like most adult stem cell treatments, patients will have severe immune rejection problems.

“In Accordance with Existing Law”

Research which involves the deliberate destruction of human life violates every principle found in existing law, including the Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 46, (Seehttp://www.dhhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm ) and the Dickey Wicker Amendment, which was signed into law under President Clinton and states:

In addition, US Constitution guarantees the right to life for every human being.  Embryos ARE human beings – and this is not an ideological fact – it is a scientific fact.  Embryos do not start out as some other sort of life form  – they are not carrots or puppies that evolve somehow through the development process.  From the first moment of the union of the egg and sperm, the embryo has all DNA necessary to become a unique individual, including hair color, eye color, personality traits, etc.  Thus, as a human individual, they are entitled to the same protection under Federal Law as other human beings.
Comments may also be mailed to:
NIH Stem Cell Guidelines

MSC 7997, 9000 Rockville Pike,

Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7997

Children of God for Life Responds:

Click here to read our letter submitted on May 4, 2009 and feel free to use any portions of the letter in your own response.  Try not to copy word for word – original letters are always best!

Read the NIH guidelines: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-9313.htm

REMEMBER: All comments must be received by NIH on or before May 26, 2009

Note – this just in from the NCHLA official partner of the USCCB for Action Alerts:

E-mail messages can be sent to Congress and to NIH through the NCHLA Grassroots Action Center at: www.nchla.org/stemcell.  People are first directed to send e-mails to their U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. They are then directed to go to the NIH web form, where their name and a prepared pro-life message have already been inserted. Before submitting the comments, the user must complete a simple “Security Check” (fill in a random set of four provided numbers). Comments can be added to both messages.

Please encourage your people to visit the NCHLA Grassroots Action Center.

For more information, please see the attached Action Alert at: www.nchla.org/actiondisplay.asp?ID=272 .

The USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities is preparing a special stem cell page on their web site. See “Oppose Destructive Stem Cell Research,” at: www.usccb.org/stemcellcampaign.  To facilitate people sending their e-mails messages to Congress and NIH, the bishops’ web site will again link to the NCHLA Grassroots Action Center