Adopt an Embryo

August 11, 2001

by Tom Barrett, Editor@ConservativeTruth.org

ADOPT AN EMBRYO. One reason there is controversy in the area of stem cell research is that there are so many lies being told. It’s hard to form an accurate opinion when accurate information is hard to come by. The biggest lie is that there are thousands of frozen embryos that are destined to be thrown away. "Since they’re going to be destroyed anyway," goes one argument, "why not destroy them for a good cause?"

In an otherwise fairly balanced and very informative article on the basics of stem cell research, a professor of bioethics made a serious mistake which added to the confusion surrounding this issue. Referring to "extra" human embryos originally intended for reproductive purposes, he stated, "If they are not used in research, these unwanted embryos will either be kept frozen indefinitely or destroyed." As you will see, this is simply not the case. ("Extra" human embryos occur because implantation is an imperfect science, so more embryos are created than are usually needed for a family to conceive.) The article was written by Kevin Wides, a professor at Georgetown University and associate director of the university’s Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics. View the entire article at www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1321/11_181/56201142/p1/article.jhtml?term=

I will not get into the debate about the many other viable sources of human stem cells for research, sources that do not involve killing a human embryo. There are hundreds of qualified doctors and scientists pointing out that the same research can be done using stem cells from liposuctioned fat (which is currently thrown away), umbilical blood, placentas, and bone marrow among many others. (Interesting articles on the wide variety of rich sources for stem cells can be found at www.probe.org/docs/c-stemcell3.html, www.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/fatcells010410.html and www.marrow.org/MEDICAL/sources_of_stem_cells.html).

My objective is to bring awareness of the fact that human embryos that are unwanted or unneeded by their parents have a potential future that is far superior to their dubious value in scientific research. (There is no proof that embryonic stem cells are of higher quality for research than the other easily available sources.) This solution has the added advantage to the embryo that he or she isn’t killed (which I am sure they will appreciate later in life).

Ninety-five per cent of you don’t know about human embryo adoption, because the liberal media doesn’t want you to know about it, and they control most of the news you see. Conservative Truth was founded because we are tired of that kind of slanted and censored news. The truth is that human embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures are welcome in the wombs of loving mothers. During in vitro fertilization male sperm and a female egg have already been joined, and life has begun. We have to decide whether life will be allowed to continue and grow as God intended, or whether to sacrifice these little lives so medical corporations can make huge profits.

If you doubt there is a profit motive involved, look at all the recent news coverage of medical corporations patenting human DNA (many times without the knowledge or consent of the patients from whom they took the DNA). Our Constitution allows for patents to protect "Inventions." GOD invented DNA! Researchers only "discover" or identify certain types of DNA. Columbus "discovered" America, but he didn’t get to keep it! The people who have patented these DNA strands are making billions from them. And millions of people who desperately need the tests and procedures derived from them may die because they can’t afford the outrageous prices charged by the patent holders. One example from recent FOX News coverage: A medical firm discovered a gene that helps in the early detection of breast cancer. The woman whose blood led to the discovery wants everyone to have access to the test. Instead, the "researchers" are charging $2,500 to test for this one gene! Eventually there will be hundreds of genes to test for various diseases. Do the math.

Liberals don’t want you to know that there is really no such thing as a left over or unwanted human embryo, because there are far more couples waiting to adopt than there are embryos available. They don’t want you to know that there are Human Embryo Adoption Agencies. In fact, you probably didn’t know that they existed until just now, because the liberals are doing a better job censoring information than we are at publishing the truth. Why do they care? An important part of the liberal agenda is to make the murder of defenseless humans socially acceptable. If they succeed in convincing society that human embryos are not worthy of protection, then they achieve yet another victory in their quest to desensitize our country to the murder of children at ANY age.

JoAnn Davidson, program director of the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Agency (www.embryoadoption.com), says "Embryo adoption is proof-positive that not all embryos are destroyed as you so often hear in the media these days." And not a single embryo needs to be destroyed. "There are an estimated 12 to 35 thousand babies waiting to be born to infertile couples," she says. "The intent of the program is that all life will be given the chance to be born. Harvesting the stem cells from a living embryo always kills the embryo."

In answer to a question from a woman who was considering adopting an embryo, Dr. James Dobson, host of the nationwide radio program Focus on the Family, wrote: "I would tend to see the option you’ve been offered (where embryos already exist and are going to be destroyed) as ’adoption’ at an earlier stage of development. The idea of embryo adoption is a new concept. From a theological standpoint, I believe the fertilized eggs in question already have an eternal soul."

Millions of women cry themselves to sleep at night because they cannot have a baby. There are not nearly enough human embryos to fill the hearts of the estimated six to ten million infertile couples in the United States. Because there are adoptive families for all the available human embryos, and all fifty States allow the adoption of human embryos, not one more tiny human needs to be sacrificed on the altar of research and greed.

The argument that "’Extra’ human embryos will probably be destroyed, so it’s OK to kill them for research," reminds me of another: "Since old people (or terminally ill people, or disabled people) are going to die soon (or don’t know what’s going on, or don’t have a good quality of life), why not euthanize them?" ("Euthanize" is the politically correct word for the murder of someone who is difficult to care for.) Allowing experimentation on human embryos takes us one step further down the road to euthanasia.

Lest we forget, Adolf Hitler used the same arguments that human embryo research advocates employ today. He considered Jews and crippled people to be useless to society, less than human. Therefore, in his sick mind, it was perfectly acceptable to torture them in the name of scientific research. To today’s "researchers," it is acceptable to destroy these precious human lives, because they don’t consider them to be humans. But God does.

WHY I AM A LIBERTARIAN by Ken Butdorf.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Conservative Truth does not endorse any political party. Following our recent issue on the differences between the two major political parties, I received emails requesting information on the Libertarian Party. I felt that Ken Butdorf was one of the most literate and articulate Libertarians I could approach to write this article. I hope that you will learn, as I have, from reading it. Ken is a minister, businessman, and writer who lives in Missouri, the "Show me" State.)

I have known Tom Barrett for 20 years. We have worked together, prayed together and, if you know Tom, argued with one another. Tom asked me to share my reasons for being a Libertarian, so here goes....

I wasn’t always a Libertarian. I used to be a Republican, but following the Reagan years I began feeling more and more betrayed by "my" party. I saw liberties eroding, even when "my" party was in power. I saw promises broken or put off for years until they became useless. I saw politics as usual, regardless of which party was in power.

I developed a strong distrust for the BIG government we have in America today. I studied the history of our country and the beliefs expressed in the writings of our Founding Fathers, and concluded that I did not share the vision of America expressed by either major political party. I discovered, among other things, that big government isn’t constitutional (that means it isn’t legal), big government isn’t good, and big government doesn’t work.

Politicians make promises. They don’t get results. If any business was run as our politicians run our country, the owners would be arrested for fraud at the very least. Our politicians (regardless of party), cheat, lie, and steal. They do it all under our noses, completely unaccountable to anyone but themselves. Republicans blame Democrats. Democrats blame Republicans. And both are guilty. I used to think the Republicans were the moral party. I was wrong. They are the less immoral party. You won’t have to check many news stories to discover the truth of that statement. Power still corrupts. Politicians have a vested interest in taking more of my money, more of my freedom, and more control over my life.

I found myself among the Politically Homeless. I was pretty sure there were people like me, but I didn’t know where they were. Where did I fit in? Where could I make a difference? One thing that helped me was taking the World’s Smallest Political Test (www.self-gov.org/wspq.html). If you go there and click "Take the test," you’ll discover there are many more political persuasions than simply left or right. PC Magazine’s Guide to the Web asks, "Fed up with left and right political labels? Take the World’s Smallest Political Quiz to uncover your true political identity." Bill Mann (Politics on the Net) says, "Give this quiz a try. It’s fun, and who knows? You may be surprised at what you find."

I finally discovered the Libertarian Party. I was resistant at first because I thought of Libertarians as white supremacist Freemen barricading themselves in mountain cabins surrounded by ATF agents. They were crazed anarchist bombers, bent on destroying all centralized authority. Those people do exist. I’m not one of them. But as I read, I discovered a different kind of Libertarian, one that looked an awful lot like me. I found that there are different kinds of Libertarians, just as there are different kinds of Democrats and Republicans.

What is a Libertarian? A Libertarian is someone who believes that each person is responsible for their own actions. They believe people should be free to do whatever they wish, as long as they do not harm anyone else. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Many say it’s too simple and begin listing dozens of "what if’s." But look at the alternative: a Federal Government that takes our personal freedom because we are deemed unable to take care of ourselves.

For example, we cannot be trusted to take care of our retirement, so we have forced Social Security. We aren’t smart enough to take care of our health, so we have a bureaucratic nightmare called a "health care system" (which drives costs through the ceiling). We cannot be trusted to make our own decisions, so industries are regulated to "protect" us (doubling and tripling the cost of products in the process). The more Washington "protects" us, the more power they have over us and the less true liberty we have. And we are, in fact, less safe than before.

Our Federal Government has declared several "wars" over the past several decades that we have absolutely, undeniably lost. These include the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war for education and the war on pollution. Because of these wars, we now have MORE poverty and drug trafficking, public education is failing and the worst dump sites in America are on federally-owned land. And it isn’t just because of the Democrats. These "wars" also took place during Republican administrations.

What is the cost of all this unconstitutional government meddling? If you are an average American, you pay 47% of your income to get this wonderful help from the government. You work each year until the third week of May just to pay taxes, most of which you had absolutely no voice in creating. Pretty exciting isn’t it?

What do Libertarians offer you? First and foremost, your freedom. Please keep in mind, you can’t get your freedom if the guy next door doesn’t get his too. Tolerance is required. You get freedom to practice your morality, but you cannot legislate someone else’s. After all, is it really morality if we must use force to achieve it?

Secondly, Libertarianism offers you a win-win situation. You have more personal freedom. The government takes little or no taxes (yes, you read that correctly). The government is held in check (as it should be now) by the Constitution of the United States. Charities are free to operate without government regulations and you have the money to support whichever charities you personally choose. You can send your children to whatever school you choose.

I want smaller government. I want more freedom. Only one group offers me that choice: the Libertarians. That is why I am a Libertarian. Al Gore, George W. Bush, Pat Buchanan, and Ralph Nader ALL want to increase the size of the government. They ALL want to increase government spending (of my money). They ALL want to maintain control over my life. I just cannot vote for that any longer. Can you?

Please visit the website of Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party’s 2000 Presidential candidate: www.harrybrowne2000.org/stands/index.htm for greater detail on the stands and issues of the Libertarian Party.