Calif. Clergy's Prop. 71 Press Event Hailed As Pro-life Success
by Jenni Parker
October 27, 2004
(AgapePress) - More than a dozen pro-life pastors gathered in Sacramento October 26 to hold a news conference and express their heartfelt condemnation of Proposition 71, the "clone and kill" human embryo bond on California's statewide ballot.Several California TV stations were on hand to cover the "Ministers for Medical Ethics" conference in front of the University of California - Davis Medical Center. Pastor Jonathan Zachariou of Davis Christian Assembly spearheaded the effort and led the pro-life media event with other ministers at his side, and he also did a number of radio interviews as a result of the news conference.
Zachariou contends that supporters of Prop. 71 have deceptively labeled it "somatic cell nuclear transfer" in an effort to disguise the fact that it is what it is -- scientific experimentation on human beings. "Even a judge ruled that Prop. 71 allows human cloning experimentation," he told the news conference crowd. "That is why Prop. 71 should be opposed by everyone who believes human life is sacred and no one should play God."
The Ministers for Medical Ethics spokesman warned listeners against repeating the mistakes of the past, citing the Nazis' experiments on Jews in the WWII concentration camps, and the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In the Tuskegee Experiment, which has been called one of the greatest failures of medical ethics in U.S. history, the federal government purposely allowed syphilis to spread untreated among hundreds of poor black American sharecroppers. Many subjects were led to believe they were receiving treatment when in fact they were being allowed to die, or to infect their wives and children while the men themselves steadily grew worse -- all so government scientists could supposedly learn more about the disease.
Zachariou also recalled the Willowbrook Children's Home "research" of the 1960s, in which mentally retarded children were injected with hepatitis. And, he cited reports of the U.S. military's intentional exposure of unsuspecting military personnel and civilians to deadly radiation, again, for research purposes. These, the minister points out, were just a few of the government research scandals about which Americans have cried "never again" and vowed they would "never forget."
But although "abusing innocent human beings for experimentation has occurred in the past," the minister and medical ethics advocate says Americans must take care not to "make the mistake again." He contends that "the mistakes of the past would be repeated by Prop. 71," an initiative he describes as "morally and ethically wrong" because it violates time-honored standards for ethical research.
In an impassioned plea on behalf of the unborn, Zachariou told the press and the public that Prop. 71 would "clone and kill the young human beings -- human embryos with their own DNA, their own human identity -- and force us to pay for it." He and other ministers at the conference vehemently condemned the ballot measure and urged all to vote against it.
A Triumph for Pro-Life Activism
Pro-lifers are hailing the Ministers for Medical Ethics news conference as a victory for their cause and for public awareness. Campaign for California Families (CCF), a pro-family leadership organization, assisted behind the scenes, distributing press releases, inviting the media, and doing strategic planning to help make the event a success. Along with Zachariou and the other clergy, CCF worked to ensure that Californians heard the truth about Prop. 71, and to drive home the point that the measure would use the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars to fund the cloning and killing of unborn babies.
Randy Thomasson, CCF's executive director, commends the pro-life clergy for their bold and passionate activism. "It's so encouraging to see men of God stand up for moral values in the public square," he says, "and our team thoroughly enjoyed this project against Prop. 71. We hope the courage of these men will motivate many more pastors to speak up."
Thomasson urged Christian leaders to help get the word out through similar media conferences and other venues "where their voices are sorely needed beyond the walls of their church buildings," and to advise all pro-family Californians to vote no on Prop. 71 when they go to the polls next week.
