New York Catholic official assails $2.1 billion stem-cell bill

Published: 2007-03-01

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- The executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference urged the state Legislature Feb. 28 to ban any form of "taxpayer-financed human cloning" and to reject Gov. Eliot Spitzer's $2.1 billion Stem Cell and Innovation Fund as proposed, with its major emphasis on funding research on human embryonic stem cells. "The governor's stem-cell research proposal is devoid of any moral consideration whatsoever for the living human embryos who will be subject to experimentation and destruction," said Richard E. Barnes, executive director of the conference, which is the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops. He made the remarks in testimony before a joint meeting of the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The proposed fund calls for spending $100 million in New York's public funds next year and $50 million a year for the next 10 years after that on "stem cells, other life sciences and emerging technologies." In addition, it calls for a $1.5 billion bond act, subject to voter approval in 2008, for such research.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .