On November 7, Michigan's House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on bills introduced in the Michigan House to overturn Michigan's prolife laws which prohibit the killing of human embryos for research. The central bill in the package, H.B. 4616 (sponsored by Representative Andy Meisner), would also allow researchers to kill cloned human embryos for research. Some individuals in Michigan want to kill human embryos so they can extract embryonic stem cells.

Numerous individuals on both sides of the debate testified before committee members on issues such as their medical condition, stem cell research and embryo adoption.

Stacy Giesen, who, along with her husband David, adopted their two children (Frank and Lucy) when they were embryos, testified against killing human embryos for research, saying, "Do scientists truly believe my Frank could have better served humanity dissected, destroyed and ultimately injected into someone's spine? Of course, that's hard to say when he's sitting here in front of us, but what are we saying about those embryos yet to be adopted."

William Passinault, a retired surgeon, discussed how it was unethical to kill one human being in an attempt to treat another while Ann Stephenson, a woman who has multiple sclerosis, noted her strong desire to be cured but not at the expense of another's life. Mary Hamilton testified about the failures of cloning for research and the dangers to women who would donate their eggs for human cloning research.

The chairman of the committee has stated that a committee vote on the legislation could take place after Thanksgiving break on either November 28 or December 5. If the bill passes, it will move to the House floor.

Action Needed
The following Michigan representatives serve on the House Judiciary Committee. If you are one of their constituents, please contact them and share your strong opposition to killing of human embryos for research and H.B. 4616.

Committee Members:
Steve Bieda (D) - (517) 373-1772
Paul Condino (D) - (517) 373-1788
Marc R. Corriveau (D) - (517) 373-3816
Andy Coulouris (D) - (517) 373-0152
Kevin Elsenheimer (R) - (517) 373-0829
Rick Jones (R) - (517) 373-0853
David Law (R) - (517) 373-1799
Mark S. Meadows (D) - (517) 373-1786
Andy Meisner (D) - (517) 373-0478
Tory Rocca (R) - (517) 373-7768
Tonya Schuitmaker (R) - (517) 373-0839
Bettie Cook Scott (D) - (517) 373-1776
Virgil Smith (D) - (517) 373-0589
John Stakoe (R) - (517) 373-2616
Rebekah Warren (D) - (517) 373-2577

To find out if one of these committee members is your Michigan House Representative, visit rtl.org and click on Find Your Legislator