Presidential Message: Proudly Supporting All Human Life

Prolifers from around the state met in Flint the last week-end in September at the 28th annual RLM state conference to share ideas and increase understanding of the new issues facing people of life.

Our conference theme this year was from Albert Schweitzer:

"If a man loses reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all of life."

This Schweitzer quote was certainly timely with the loss of so many lives due to the terrorists attacks on our nation, but it also applies to the scientific advances that daily push even further in the direction of diminishing the value and dignity of each human life.

In just a year's time, we have seen the rapid advance to clone human beings for spare parts or for replacement of loved ones who have died. The research under way is being financed privately, but some are even encouraging the use of our tax dollars for this new venture into human reproduction.

An additional field of health research that is also troubling to our right to life movement is the continuing push for federal funding of research into the use of fetal stem cells for cures for a variety of diseases and abnormalities. Many in the scientific community along with spokespersons from advocacy organizations are aggressively calling for federal approval and involvement in creating embryos so they can be used to lengthen the life of adults.

We at Right to Life of Michigan stand by our policy that a unique individual is created at the time of fertilization. We oppose the creation of stem cell lines from embryos because the lives of innocent human beings are taken. We oppose the use of federal tax dollars for research on existing embryo stem cell lines because again innocent lives were deliberately destroyed. As one editorial writer stated in opposition to embryo stem cell research:

"For it may be true enough that the funding of research on wrongly destroyed embryos is not in itself wrong. But where their death is so convenient to our desires in the first place, is it not a bit disingenuous and distasteful to lament them as we exploit them?"

In this "brave new world" of so many scientific breakthroughs, it will take informed and brave prolifers to speak for the reverence of all life. On these complicated issues of stem cells, cloning and futile health care at the end of life, it is urgent that right to life members take advantage of all opportunities for education. It will be imperative that we inform our friends, family and neighbors of these perils to the culture of life. For again, as Albert Schweitzer warned us, "If a man loses reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all of life."

Thank you for being defenders of the reverence for all human life.

 

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