Dobson's World: God hates medical research

Mississippi's legislature temporarily rejected legislation proposed by anti-abortion groups that would ban stem-cell research: Stem cells and God's Will by Sid Salter Jackson Clarion-Ledger 03/26/06. Lord forbid that Mississippians should ever get a shot at participating in cutting-edge medical research. Hey, if God had intended for stem-cells to be researched, he would have made them with databases attached. Salter writes about Will, a little boy with a life-threatening blood deficiency of a kind that stem-cell research might well reveal promising treatments:

That drama played out in the Mississippi Legislature on Feb. 28 when Will accompanied his parents to a state Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee hearing on House Bill 1202 that sought - under the guise of banning all forms of human cloning, including the cloning of human embryos for stem-cell research - to outlaw stem cell research in the state.

What Will heard that day was a cacophony of political, moral, religious and scientific voices debating the laws of God and man. Dan Davis took his son to the hearings "because I wanted the people speaking to this issue to see him and I wanted Will to know that his being there was important."

Proponents of stem-cell research in the state who opposed HB 1202 included a number of Mississippi members of a national group called People of Faith for Stem Cell Research. Supporters of the bill who oppose some or all forms of stem-cell research, particularly embryonic stem-cell research, included Mississippi Right to Life and Pro-Life Mississippi.

Under intense pressure from both sides, the Senate committee rejected HB 1202 by voice vote on the deadline day for committee action - effectively killing the bill during the 2006 regular session.

But the broader fight over the future of stem-cell research is far from over in Mississippi. Legislators will debate it again.

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