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# 276 Friday, January 5, 2007 - WHEN CHRISTIANS CALL CONGRESS: Supporting the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3, S. 5) There is a new Congress in town. On Thursday, January 11th, 2007, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will be brought to the floor of Congress once again. Remember the terrific battle we had to wage last year, just to get the Stem Cell Research Act even considered? When finally muscled to the floor of Congress by Republican Mike Castle and Democrat Diana DeGette, HR 810 proved a superb example of bi-partisan cooperation. It overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate-- only to be vetoed by President Bush. Now, we are back again, and this time could be different. The same exact bill, now called House Resolution 3, and Senate Bill 5, offers a non-political way to increase the number of federally-funded stem cell lines: all from microscopic blastocysts otherwise thrown away: turning laboratory trash into a treasure of hope for our loved ones. This time around, we may get a little more help from organized religion. Throughout history, the Christian Church has been a powerful force for social change; the success of the civil rights movement would have been almost unimaginable without the positive involvement of the Churches of the South, for example. Too often portrayed as unblinkingly opposed to all scientific advances, even the most conservative religions are made up of the same people whose families visit them in hospital rooms, and push in wheelchairs. They too want health. Change is coming. Across America, and the world, Christianity and Christians are taking a fresh look at the burgeoning new science, and they like what they see. Far from the Frankensteinian nightmares once imagined, stem cell research is cells, cell, nothing but cells-and the hope of cure. Here are two ways forward-looking Christians can call Congress to support the research which may one day lead to cure for millions of good and decent folks across this planet. One: if you belong to a church which supports stem cell research, as for instance Episcopalian, LDS (Mormon), Presbyterian, or Methodist, please consider calling the following members of your faith-and urging them to support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act-because they all voted against it before. Here is a list of the Episcopalian, LDS (Mormon), Presbyterian, and Methodist members of Congress who voted against HR 810. I must add here that I think of this as "Faye's List" because most of the work of compiling it was done by stem cell research advocate Faye Armitage, mother of Jason, a paralyzed young man.*. Leave a message for the Representative of your faith: call after hours, if you like. You might say, for example: "Like Representative ___________, I am a Presbyterian, and our Presbyterian faith supports stem cell research. I hope Representative ______________ will vote yes on the Stem Cell Research Act this Thursday, because it is my family's most important issue. Thank you." If you are a constituent, be sure to mention that, and leave your phone number-they will almost certainly not call you, but the phone number verifies you are a constituent. Episcopalian: Jo Bonner, AL, 1-202-225-4931 Ander Crenshaw, FL, 1-202-225-2501 John Mica, FL, 1-202-225-4035 Adam Putnam, FL, 1-202-225-1252 Jack Kingston, GA, 1-202-225-5831 Dennis Rehberg, Montana, 1-202-225-3211 Michael Burgess, TX 1-202-225-7772 LDS: Jeff Flake, AZ, 1-202-225-2635 Mike Simpson, ID 1-202-225-5531 Chris Cannon, UT 1-202-225-5629 Presbyterian: Tom Tancredo, CO 1-202-225-7882 Candice Miller, MI 1-202-225-2106 Mike McIntyre, NC 1-202-225-2731 Jimmy Duncan, TN 1-202-225-5435 Mac Thornberry, TX 1-202-225-3706 Frank Wolf, VA 1-202-225-5136 Methodist: John Linder, GA 1-202-225-4272 Richard Baker, LA 1-202-225-3901 Jim McCrery, LA 1-202-225-2777 Stephen Buyer, IN 1-202-225-5037 Lee Terry, NE 1-202-225--4155 Ed Whitfield, KY 1-202-225--3115 Paul Gillmor, OH 1-202-225--6405 Dave Hobson, OH 1-202-225--4324 John Peterson, PA 1-202-225-5121 Ralph Hall, TX 1-202-225-6673 Secondly, here is a list of the Catholic legislators who voted against the Act, and who could benefit from a call from a member of their faith-remember, statistically American Catholics overwhelmingly support embryonic stem cell research-but all too often legislators only hear from the conservative hierarchy. I web-searched the phone numbers for the first group, but ran out of time for the second, so am offering an all-purpose number, provided courtesy of my buddy Rayilyn Brown, who says: "Call your congresspeople 1-202-224-3121 and let them know you want them to support ESCR. PD has pretty much destroyed my voice, so this is very very difficult for me. Think how you'd feel if you woke up tomorrow morning and learned there was a cure for PD. Do you think there ever will be if SCR is restricted to adult stem cells??? Ray" If you are a Catholic, consider calling your state representatives, saying something like: "I am one of the vast majority of American Catholics who support embryonic stem cell research. I hope Representative ______________ will remember me and my family, and vote for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Thank you." Call 1-202-224-3121 The following Representatives are of the Catholic faith, and would benefit from phone calls from fellow Catholics in support of embryonic stem cell research. Arizona AZ-1 Renzi, Rick California CA-3 Lungren, Dan CA-21 Nunes, Devin CA-19 Radanovich, George CA-40 Royce, Ed Florida FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario Georgia GA-8 Marshall, Jim Illinois IL-3 Lipinski, Dan IL-18 LaHood, Ray Iowa IA-5 King, Steve Kansas KS-1 Moran, Jerry Louisiana LA-1 Jindal, Bobby Michigan MI-1 Stupak, Bart MI-4 Camp, Dave MI-5 Kildee, Dale MI-9 Knollenberg, Joseph MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus Minnesota MN-8 Oberstar, James Mississippi MS-4 Taylor, Gene Missouri MO-9 Hulshof, Kenny Nebraska NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeff [ New Jersey NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank NJ-4 Smith, Christopher NJ-7 Ferguson, Michael New York NY-3 King, Peter NY-23 McHugh, John NY-25 Walsh, James North Carolina NC-3 Jones, Walter NC-5 Foxx, Virginia NC-10 Mchenry, Patrick Ohio OH-1 Chabot, Steven OH-8 Boehner, John OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick Oklahoma OK-1 Sullivan, John Pennsylvania PA-3 English, Philip PA-17 Holden, Tim PA-18 Murphy, Tim Tennessee TX-8 Brady, Kevin TX-10 McCaul, Michael Wisconsin WI-1 Ryan, Paul *"Faye Armitage is one of the original founders of Cure Paralysis Now and also sits on the board of the Stem Cell Action Network. Her son Jason (now 17), became paralyzed during a soccer match when he was just 7 years old. The only movement left to Jason was the blinking of his eyes. Faye spent five years traveling with Jason and his four sisters to Cyprus, Poland, Canada and several states in the US to try different therapies, including hyperbaric oxygen, accupucture, muscle biofeedback, constraint induced therapy, FTM, IMT, etc. She came to the realization that none of these treatments would provide more than minor improvements and her hopes shifted to stem cell research. She has spent the past three years as an ardent stem cell activist and has been quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tampa Tribune, St Petersburg Times, Orlando Sentinel, the Times Union, Folio Magazine and the Wall Street Journal." By Don C. Reed, Chair, Californians for Cures, www.stemcellbattles.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn