LifeBeat for February 2, 2008

Sidewalk counselor Mary Verwys talks about her work at the Omega House. The Omega House is a prolife ministry which is located next door to an abortion clinic. To listen, click here.

LifeBeat for January 26, 2008

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issue analysis for Focus on the Family, discusses some of the lies about abortion that many in our society believe. She also discusses how churches can reach out to women who have had abortions. To listen, click here.

Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion Passes Michigan Senate

On January 22, 2008, the Michigan Senate passed Senate Bill 776, known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, by a vote of 24-13. This bill if passed in the Michigan House and signed by Governor Granholm would make it a crime in Michigan law to perform a partial-birth abortion. Any abortionist who "performs the overt act that kills the partially delivered living fetus rather than completing the delivery" would be guilty of a felony. For more information about this legislation, visit Right to Life of Michigan's web page on this legislation.

The Detroit News carried this article about the bill's passage.

State Senator Gretchen Whitmer falsely claims embryonic stem cell research banned in Michigan

Below is a letter to the editor of the Lansing State Journal which was submitted in response to a January 20 editorial by State Senator Gretchen Whitmer which falsely claimed that embryonic stem cell research is banned in Michigan.

In a recent editorial, State Senator Gretchen Whitmer falsely claimed Michigan "ban(s) embryonic stem cell research." Embryonic stem cell research has been occurring in Michigan since 2002. The University of Michigan has a "Michigan Center for hES (human embryonic stem) Cell Research." Their web page (http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/hes/) boasts that "(m)ore than 40 scientists are active participants in the Center for hES Cell Research." Michigan law doesn't prevent embryonic stem cell research, it prevents human cloning and killing embryos for research.

Senator Whitmer wants to change that. Legislation she's sponsoring (Senate Bill 52) would change the definition of "human cloning" to legalize the creation of human embryos through a cloning procedure called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Yet her editorial cites "restrictions" like only using embryos "created for IVF."

Why do proponents of cloning and killing embryos continuously try to deceive us? We deserve better from our elected representatives.

Head of Van Andel Institute says, "We don't have a reason to do" embryonic stem cell research

During a recent interview with the Grand Rapids Press, David Van Andel, Chief Executive of the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, was asked whether the Van Andel Institute "ever will do embryonic stem-cell research?"

His response is below. He notes one of the major problems with ever using embryonic stem cells to treat patients and mentions why that's one of the reasons recent research creating patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell lines without killing human embryos is so important.

A: We don't have a reason to do it. I mean, everybody's trying to force this on me, and I say, why? If at some point we find that stem-cell research of any kind offers an opportunity for one of the diseases we're in, we certainly will look at it and, in some cases, probably engage in it. I don't see a reason to go down the road, because I don't have anybody tell me, 'I want to go do this.' ... One of the major obstacles in embryonic stem cells that has not gotten a lot of attention is the fact that you're using somebody else's cells to make these, and you're going to plant them in your body. There's a huge rejection issue that has to be overcome, and nobody talked about that. That's why this other discovery was so important, because it was using your cells from your body, and that rejection issue gets negated. That's a major, major deal.

LifeBeat for January 19, 2008

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issues analysis at Focus on the Family, discusses how churches can share the prolife message. She also discusses how most Americans don't understand what Roe v. Wade actually did. You can test your Roe IQ at www.roeiqtest.com. To listen, click here.

LifeBeat for January 12, 2008

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issues analysis at Focus on the Family, discusses Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, its importance and what churches can do. To listen, click here.

Critical Reading of a Jack Lessenberry editorial on stem cell research

The most recent critical reading has been posted at www.stemcellresearchcures.com.

This critical reading points out numerous errors in an editorial by Jack Lessenberry on stem cell research which was printed in the Traverse City Record-Eagle on December 23, 2007.

Among the errors Lessenberry makes are falsely claiming again that embryonic stem cell research is outlawed in Michigan, not knowing who is sponsoring legislation to legalize the killing of human embryos in research and not knowing how much money will be spent on embryonic stem cell research in California.

Toledo Blade editorial and Jack Lessenberry get stem cell facts wrong

On December 30, 2007, the Toledo Blade published a poorly researched editorial on stem cell research which made a large number of claims which were factually incorrect. The editorial was based largely on a previous editorial written by Jack Lessenberry. The following letter to the editor was submitted in response to the Blade editorial.

The Blade's December 30th editorial on stem cell research, which strongly mirrored a former editorial by Jack Lessenberry, made a number of false claims.

First, the editorial claims Michigan has a "stem-cell ban." This is a ridiculous claim as the University of Michigan has a Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and received a large federal grant to perform embryonic stem cell research in 2003. Michigan's laws ban the killing of human embryos for research and human cloning. Researchers can and do import embryonic stem cells from other states and perform research on them in Michigan.

Second, Rep. Paul Condino isn't the primary sponsor of the legislation attempting to overturn Michigan's laws. Rep. Mark Meadows is the primary sponsor of HB 4617 and HB 4618, while Rep. Andy Meisner is the primary sponsor of HB 4616. Rep. Paul Condino isn't listed as even a co-sponsor on any of these bills.

The editorial also falsely claims Right to Life of Michigan "has convinced people that aborted fetuses would be used for such research." This statement doesn't have an ounce of truth to it. Right to Life of Michigan's website has loads of information on embryonic stem cell research and none of it claims embryonic stem cells come from aborted children. Right to Life of Michigan has also created a web site focused on stem cell research at www.stemcellresearchcures.com. Nowhere on this site will you see the claim that embryonic stem cells come from aborted fetuses.

The editorial also claims Californians voted to "tax themselves" $10 billion for embryonic stem cell research. Proposition 71, which was passed by California voters in 2004 allows $3 billion to be spent on embryonic stem cell research over 10 years and will likely cost taxpayers somewhere around $6 billion.

LifeBeat for January 5, 2008

Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life of Michigan, discusses what prolifers in Michigan should be aware of in 2008. A petition drive to legalize the cloning and killing of human embryos could begin collecting signatures in the near future. To listen, click here.