289 Friday February 2, 2007 - GROUPS AGAINST the Stem Cell Research
Enhancement Act:

With roughly three out of four Americans now supporting embryonic stem cell
research, you might wonder, where is the opposition coming from?
Here they are: the groups opposing the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.
(note: this is self-described as a "partial list". But it has remained
unchanged since its original posting more than a year and a half ago, on May
27, 2005. If there were more groups, it seems reasonable they would have
been added by now.)
Republican Study Committee: Rep. Jeb Hensnarling (R-TX), Chairman
Russ Vought, Executive Director, 132 Cannon House Bldg., Washington DC 20515
Legislative Bulletin...............January 10, 2007
Contents:
H.R. 3 - Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007.
(a multi-page description of bill follows here-dr)
Outside Organizations:  The following is a partial list of outside
organizations ­opposing (emphasis added) H.R. 3.

National Right to Life Committee
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Family Research Council
Christian Coalition
Concerned Women for America
Focus on the Family
Christian Medical Association
Eagle Forum
Traditional Values Coalition
Southern Baptist Convention
Susan B. Anthony List
Republican National Committee for Life
Cornerstone Policy Research
Culture of Life Foundation
Religious Freedom Coalition
Coral Ridge Ministries
Center For Reclaiming America

Thirteen of the seventeen groups are conservative religious lobbying
organizations. The remaining four (National Right to Life Committee, Eagle
Forum, Susan B. Anthony List, Republican National Committee for Life)  are
primarily anti-abortion groups.
Two groups were begun by James Dobson, (Family Research Council, Focus on
the Family).  A similar and perhaps related group, the Family Bioethics
Counsel, is currently suing to shut down California's new stem cell program.
Two groups were begun by evangelist D. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge
Ministries, Center for Reclaiming America).
Two groups were begun by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly (Eagles
Forum, Republican National Committee for Life).
One group appears to be defunct. Cornerstone Policy Research has a
non-functioning website and non-responsive phone number.  I can find no
forwarding address.
Who are these groups which oppose embryonic stem cell research?  Here, in
their own words, is a brief description:
1. National Right to Life Committee:
An anti-abortion political action group with "over 3000 chapters in all 50
states"."The primary interest of the National Right to Life Committee and
its members has been the abortion controversy."
source:http://www.nrlc.org/Missionstatement.htm

2. US Conference of Catholic Bishops:
"The USCCB is an assembly of the Catholic Church hierarchy who work together
to unify, coordinate, promote and carry on Catholic activities in the United
States.The bishops themselves constitute the membership of the Conference
and are served by a staff of over 350 lay people, priests, deacons, and
religious."
Source: http://www.usccb.org/index.shtml

3. Family Research Council:
"The Family Research Council.promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the
basis of a just, free, and stable society. (begun by) James Dobson.
(developed by) Gary Bauer.a $10 million operation." (note: this is the group
that employs David Prentice. They have a reported 120 full-time employees.)
Source: http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PGO3FO6@V=PRINT
4. Christian Coalition:
".the largest and most active conservative grassroots political organization
in America. The Christian Coalition of America offers people of faith the
vehicle to be actively involved in shaping their government-from the County
Courthouse to the halls of Congress. (it).distributed a record 70 million
voter guides throughout all 50 states." (These voter guides are considered
to have been influential in the election of the current President Bush.)
Source: http://www.cc.org/about.cf
5. Concerned Women for America:
"The mission of CWA is to protect and promote Biblical values among all
citizens-first through prayer, then education, and finally by influencing
our society."
Source: cwfa.org/about.asp

6. Focus on the Family:
"Mission Statement: To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in sharing the gospel
of Jesus Christ.nurturing and defending the Godordained institution of the
family and promoting biblical truths worldwide." ".our founder, James
Dobson.
Source:
://www.focusonthefamily.com/aboutus/A000000408.cfm
7. Christian Medical Association:
"The Christian Medical and Dental Associations exist to motivate, educate,
and equip Christian physicians and dentists to glorify God by: .advancing
Biblical principles in bioethics and health to the Church and society."
Source:
http://www.cmdahome.org/index.cgi?BISKIT=3982036250&CONTEXT=cat&cat=100011
8. Eagle Forum:
(an anti-abortion conservative group, Eagle Forum) "support (s) the sanctity
of human life as a gift from our Creator. (begun by) Phyllis Schlafly (who)
"led the pro-family movement to victory over the principal legislative goal
of the radical feminists, called the Equal Rights Amendment."
Source: http://www.eagleforum.org/misc/descript.html  (also, Ms. Shlafly's
bio on same site.)
9. Traditional Values Coalition:
"Traditional Values Coalition is the largest non-denominational grassroots
church lobby in America.TVC speaks on behalf of over 43,000 churches."
Source: http://www.traditionalvalues.org/about.php
10. Southern Baptist Convention:
"Since its organization in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, the Southern Baptist
Convention (SBC) has grown to over 16 million members who worship in more
than 42,000 churches in the united states..The term "Southern Baptist
Convention" refers to both the denomination and its annual meeting.  Working
through 1,200 local associations and 41 state conventions and fellowships,
Southern Baptists share a common bond of basic Biblical beliefs and a
commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world."
Source: http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/default.asp
11. Susan B. Anthony List:
 "The Susan B. Anthony List is a 501 © (4) not-for-profit membership
organization with a connected political action committee (SBA List Candidate
Fund). "Our ultimate goal is to end abortion in this country."
Source: http://www.sba-list.org/aboutSBA.htm
12. Republican National Committee for Life:
(An anti-abortion political action group) "The Republican National Coalition
for Life (RNC/Life) was founded by Phyllis Schlafly in the fall of 1990...
to protect and defend the  Republican Party's principled commitment to legal
protection for all innocent human beings, from conception until natural
death. .we will work to hold Republican lawmakers accountable to the
pro-life principles in our platform."
Source: http://www.rnclife.org/about/
13. Cornerstone Policy Research:
Although Cornerstone Policy research is listed as part of the official
opposition to the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, their website is
largely inactive, and appears defunct.  Clicking on most buttons-"About CPR",
etc-brings no response. A telephone call to the contact number given brought
neither response nor message. The website appears to be
religiously-oriented-"PrayerEventsLinks", "PRAY FOR MARRIAGE" and other
messages on the homepage, and seems to be/have been a political action
group.
Source: http://www.nhcornerstone.org
14. Culture of Life Foundation:
(Essentially a collection of position papers and editorials supporting the
Catholic Church's political positions),  "The Culture of Life Foundation is
a social policy research institute dedicated to gathering and disseminating
the facts and science related to the culture of life. (it) places special
emphasis on affecting public policy." (The site is) "Jointly sponsored by
the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute and the Culture of Life
Foundation."
Souorce: http://thefactis.org/default.aspx?control=Contentmaster&pageid=13
15. Religious Freedom Coalition:
Begun by "William J. Murray.(who)for more than two decades has been at the
forefront of social conservativism .the Religious Freedom Coalition works to
ensure that marriage remains the union of one man and one woman.(and
to)..protect the lives of unborn children."
Source: http://rfcnet.org/about.htm

16. Coral Ridge Ministries:
"Coral Ridge Ministries (CRM) is a television, radio, and print outreach
that is touching the lives of millions-nationwide and overseas. CRM's
three-fold mission is to evangelize, nurture Christian growth through
biblical instruction, and .apply.the truth of Scripture to all of life,
including civic affairs. (Begun by Dr. D. James Kennedy) "in 1974".the
television outreach began in 1978.the Coral Ridge Hour now airs on more than
600 stations, four cable networks, and to 145 nations. nearly 3 million
people listen weekly to CRM programming on radio or television.. In 1996,
CRM launched the Center for Reclaiming America, (see next entry) a
nationwide network of concerned Christians seeking to restore virtue to
American culture."
Source: http://www.coralridge.org/about_cirm.htm
17. Center For Reclaiming America:
Actual title: "Center for Reclaiming America for Christ".
"Founded in 1996 by Dr. D. James Kennedy, as an outreach of Coral Ridge
Ministries, the Center's purpose is to mobilize American Christians at the
grassroots level. The center has established a nation-wide e-mail network of
more than 800,000 concerned Christians, who receive e-mail updates on the
most pressing issues of the day as well as tips on how to impact their
community. (a) rapidly growing E-army. With more than 800,000 electronic
mail recipients, (emphasis added) the Center can mobilize dedicated
Christians to take.action at a moment's notice."

Source: http://www.reclaimamerica.org/pages/bios/mision.htm


Well, there you have it:  the opposition, the groups opposed to embryonic
stem cell research. They wield enormous power; Congress is understandably
terrified of offending them. Imagine a group which could fund the production
and distribution of seventy million voter guides. Think what it would be
like to be an elected official, and suddenly to have your office flooded
with hundreds of thousands of emails-not to mention going to church and
seeing piles of leaflets saying the research you support is an unforgivable
sin-- or having the Preacher or Priest attack you from the pulpit.

Will these obstructionist forces prevail? Will the research be delayed,
diminished, denied?
That is up to us.
Hint for the day: have you made your phone calls to the "Swingable Seven"
Senators yet, asking them to be sure and support Senate Bill 3, the Stem
Cell Research Enhancement Act?
If not, here is their contact info.
(The ideal is a face to face meeting; those are difficult to arrange, but
not impossible. Also huge in impact is local news. Monday I will do
something on how to get reporters to cover your story. But one absolutely
guaranteed success we can all have is the letter/phone/FAX contact.)
Do please reach out to the following seven individuals:
 Lindsey Graham: South Carolina. Phone: (202) 224-5972  FAX: (202) 224-3808
Address: 290 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
http://lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contactform

Johnny Isakson: Georgia. Phone: (202) 224-3643  FAX: (202) 228-0724
Address: 120 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Bob Casey: Pennsylvania  Phone: (202) 224-6324. FAX: (202) 228-0604
Address: B-40 Dirksen Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
http://casey.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Norm Coleman: Minnesota (202) 224-5641  FAX: (202) 224-1152
Address: 320 Senate Hart Office Building, Washington, D. C. 20510
http://coleman.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

John Sununu: New Hampshire  Phone: (202) 224-2841 FAX: (202) 228-4131
Address: 111 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.sununu.senate.gov/webform.html

Bob Corker: Tennessee   Phone: (202) 224-3344  FAX: (202) 228-1264
Address: B-40A Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www3.capwiz.com/mygov/mailapp/

Richard Shelby: Alabama. Phone: (202) 224-5744    FAX: (202) 224-3416
Address: 110 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
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And thank you, very much.
By Don Reed, Californians for Cure   www.stemcellbattles.com

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