Pelosi wants Congress to Undo Restrictions on Embryonic Stem-cell Research

Speaker Pelosi calls herself "an ardent Catholic" yet supports deadly research which always kills embryonic persons.

SAN DIEGO, CA (California Catholic Daily) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who describes herself as "an ardent Catholic," wants to undo the Bush administration's restrictions on stem cell research by having Congress nullify the outgoing president's executive orders on the issue. President Bush also repeatedly vetoed stem cell research bills sent to him during his tenure in office, but President-elect Barack Obama is expected to sign any such legislation should it reach his desk.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as recently as June 2008 issued a statement on stem-cell research reiterating the longstanding position of the Church: "Harvesting these 'embryonic stem cells' involves the deliberate killing of innocent human beings, a gravely immoral act," the bishops said.

Following a speech to the nation on the moral issues involving stem cell research in 2001, President Bush signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells except for 60 existing cell lines. In June 2007, President Bush issued another executive order authorizing the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to fund stem cell research only if the cell lines were "produced in ways that do not create, destroy, or harm human embryos."

In 2006 and 2007, Bush vetoed bills sent to him by Congress that would have eliminated those restrictions, and attempts to override those vetoes failed. "If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers -- for the first time in our history -- to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos," Bush said on the occasion of his 2007 veto. "I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line. Last year, Congress passed a similar bill -- I kept my promise by vetoing it. And today I'm keeping my word again: I am vetoing the bill that Congress has sent. Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical -- and it is not the only option before us."

Political observers have said they expect President-elect Obama to undo Bush's executive orders restricting stem cell research shortly after taking office, but Pelosi says she thinks enacting federal laws that would tie a president's hands from issuing executive orders like those of President Bush is the better option.

"I myself would favor legislation, so it is the law," Pelosi was quoted as saying in a Jan. 4 International Herald Tribune story.

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Pelosi's position on stem cell research is not the first time she has publicly taken positions contradicting Church teachings. In an August 2008 interview with Meet the Press, Pelosi described herself as "an ardent, practicing Catholic," but said, "I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this... over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy."

The Speaker's remarks prompted an outcry from Catholic bishops around the country, including Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. Cardinal Justin Rigali of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Bishop William Lori of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine issued a joint statement to the press that said, in part, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion."

On Sept. 5, 2008, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer issued a lengthy statement regarding Pelosi's remarks, which concluded: "Speaker Pelosi has often said how highly she values her Catholic faith, and how much it is a source of joy for her. Accordingly, as her pastor, I am writing to invite her into a conversation with me about these matters. It is my obligation to teach forthrightly and to shepherd caringly, and that is my intent. Let us pray together that the Holy Spirit will guide us all toward a more profound understanding and appreciation for human life, and toward a resolution of these differences in truth and charity and peace."

So far, there has been no word on whether Pelosi has had that conversation with the archbishop.

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This article originally appeared in California Catholic Daily and is reprinted with permission.