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Pro-Life Update People go to amazing lengths to justify their way of life. A South
Korean scientist who had claimed to have successfully cloned human embryonic
stem cells was recently found to have fabricated his results. Embryonic
stem cell research has yet to yield positive results—only speculation.
(Many people have actually been cured by adult stem cells.) Meanwhile
in the U.S., Judge Samuel Alito has just been given a “well qualified”
rating from the ABA (a pro-abortion organization). Despite this, pro-abortion
senators are threatening to keep Alito from the high court because he
will not specifically discuss Roe. These senators will conveniently
overlook his impressive credentials. Alito’s confirmation (or
denial) will greatly affect the Culture of Life in the U.S., especially
since the Bush administration has appealed the constitutionality of
a Partial-Birth Abortion Ban to the U.S. Supreme Court. A strict constructionist
judge will be necessary to end this gruesome abortion procedure. The ABA conducts an extensive peer review of the records of judicial nominees before issuing their rating. The committee consists of 15 legal experts from across the country plus leading law school professors and top Supreme Court attorneys. They rate candidates as well qualified, qualified, or not qualified. According to the ABA website, a candidate who is considered “well qualified” must be at the “top of the legal profession in his or her legal community; have outstanding legal ability, breadth of experience and the highest reputation for integrity; and either demonstrate or exhibit the capacity for judicial temperament.” Pro-Life Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, surmised that the ABA's rating would not stop pro-abortion groups and other political organizations from attacking Alito’s nomination. In an Associated Press report, Cornyn stated “Unfortunately, the hard left groups decided long before these ratings were announced that they would oppose his nomination. And some Senate Deomcrats, including some who have previously described the ABA’s evaluation as the gold standard, will now dismiss the rating as meaningless.” The ABA had long been a part of the White House vetting process for selecting judicial nominees, but President Bush ended their involvement in 2001 because they have become too political in their unapologetic support of unrestricted abortion. They still, however, provided a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding their findings and will testify in the final days of Alito’s hearings. Supreme Court Takes No Action on Partial-Birth
Abortion Ban Case Abortion advocates have argued that the ban violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 Stenberg v. Carhart decision, which ruled a Nebraska ban on partial-birth abortions as unconstitutional because it lacked a health exception. Proponents of the ban have consistently argued that this three-day long abortion procedure is never necessary to prevent the death of the mother or to protect her health. “In 2000, five justices of the Supreme Court in effect ruled that Roe v. Wade guarantees the right to perform partial-birth abortions at will,” explained National Right to Life Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. Three federal district courts all agreed the federal ban violated the Stenberg v. Carhart decision and overturned it for that reason. The Bush administration has appealed the decision to overturn the ban made by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The outcome of this case, as well as the manner in which the case is handled, could be greatly impacted if Samuel Alito is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He would be replacing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 Stenberg v. Carhart decision. South Korean Scientist Fakes Human Cloning According to an investigative panel at Seoul National University, Hwang’s research team “did not have any proof to show that cloned embryonic stem cells were ever created.” In December, the university also concluded that Hwang fabricated another article. They could not find any of the 11 stem cell lines matched to patients, as Hwang had reported in that research. The university investigative panel stated, “This conduct cannot but be seen as an act that fools the whole scientific community and the public. Just based on the facts of the fabrications that have been disclosed, the penalty has to be severe.” Hwang said that he would resign from the university after December’s report but has not yet done so.
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