The New York State Right to Life Committee, Inc.                  Tel:   518-434-1293

41 State Street, Suite M-100                                                 Fax:  518-426-1200

Albany, New York 12207

NYS Legislative Priority Agenda       January 2007

1.  Oppose embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) and human cloning.  OPPOSE state authorization and/or state funding for ESCR or human cloning for any purpose, through any vehicle of state funding:  whether by freestanding bill, the state budget, “member item” (a grant sponsored or sought by a particular legislator), or funding through any separate entity, board, corporation or “foundation” set up by New York State to make grants for research or development.

* Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer and Lt. Governor-elect David Paterson vowed during their election campaign to provide $1 billion in state funding for embryo-destructive research and human cloning if elected.  Every pro-lifer’s voice must now be raised to oppose this impending effort.  The “prestige” and financial backing behind the push for the taxpayer funding is huge.

ESCR destroys living human embryos and has produced no therapies.  Adult stem cell research (ASCR) is ethical, harms no one, and has already produced 72 therapies in use; more are in trial.  ASCR is already alleviating suffering.  On the other hand, taxpayer funding for ESCR benefits biotech companies and universities by supporting lethal experimentation on human life.  The basic research is intended to help biotech-university ventures develop commercial human biological products down the line that can be marketed for a profit.  (ASCR does not lead to patented human products.)  Therapies derived from ESCR are theoretical at best and are estimated to be one to three decades away, if they materialize at all.  State funding of ESCR, aside from being immoral, is fiscally irresponsible.

Note that bills to fund ESCR and human cloning are often called cloning “bans” to mislead the public.  (Legislators name their own bills.)  Such counterfeit “bans” do not stop human cloning but authorize it instead.  Germany, France, Australia, Canada and other nations have acted already to ban all human cloning.  However in the U.S., cloning research proceeds at a rapid pace unabated and the specter of profit-making human embryo farms is not far off, especially if the state funds it.

2.  Oppose involuntary euthanasia.  OPPOSE the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) unless our specific amendments are incorporated into the bill to protect surrogate decisions for life-saving and life-sustaining treatment.  FHCDA’s chief sponsors are Senators Seward and Hannon, and Assemblyman Gottfried.  FHCDA passed the Assembly without our amendments in June, 2006.  It is critical that the Senate adopt our amendments.

3.  Oppose any bill to change the law on organ donation to “presumed consent.”  “Presumed consent” means “it is assumed that people want to donate unless they or their families specify otherwise.”  So a person who may have religious or other reasons for not wanting to become a donor could unintentionally become a donor and have body parts extracted, without ever having expressly consented to this.  No other U.S. state operates under “presumed consent” although several European countries do.  “Presumed consent” was under serious study by the Task Force for Life and the Law at the end of 2006.  It is important to inform pro-life legislators that a bill may be coming in 2007, before it appears and the momentum behind it is already substantial.