Thursday, February 22, 2007

SF 162 Passes...Also SF 61

Well, the vote is in, and SF 162, the "Clone and Kill" bill, has passed the House 52-46, with 2 absent or not voting. No doubt tomorrow you will hear the spin in the news coverage of this bill's passage (refer to my previous post). Here's an example of what you can expect: Rep. Lisa Heddens, the floor manager for the bill, in her closing comments said, "If you are voting no on this bill, the message that you are saying is that you do NOT support the ban on human reproductive cloning, and you don't support the treatment of cures for Iowans".

On another note, the house also passed SF 61, the "Bully Bill", which will force school districts to adopt a policy dictated by the state that enumerates certain categories of students, including sexual orientation, who are more deserving of protect from harassment and bullying than other students. This is nothing more than a back door attempt to indoctrinate our school children with the belief that homosexuality is just another lifestyle choice, rather than being the sinful behavior that it is. Anyone who expresses a contrary view will be punished and sent off to re-education camp.

Not only will religious schools not be exempt from this law, but the House amendment which said the bill "shall not be construed to inhibit the teaching or consideration of doctrinal matters" was stripped out of the bill in the Senate. At stake here is nothing less than our freedoms of speech and religion. A teacher in a Christian school that teaches homosexuality is a sin could be subject to disciplinary action under this law.

It is a sad day for Iowa. But let's not be discouraged...let's get mad! Tell all your like-minded friends every chance you get what is going on. And be sure to find out how your legislator voted on this bill, and be sure to let him or her know how you feel about it!

The current majority can do a lot more irreversible damage in the next two years. It is important that ALL biblical Christians let our legislators know how we feel on the issues that are important to us!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As of the official record SF162 passed 52-46, but that's not the whole story.

First of all, Representative Betty DeBoef, who was vehemantly opposed to the bill and spoke against it on the floor debate, accidently hit the 'yes' button when voting. She's supposed to be able to change the vote, but because it wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome, that reversal isn't happening as quickly as it would under different circumstances. Eventually, the record ought to show her true intentions. And when it does, the vote will be 51-47. But there's more...

Secondly, two Representatives were out of the country: Horbach (R), and Zirkelbach (D). Therefore they didn't vote, which is why the vote total only adds up to 98. At any rate, one more vote against the bill OR one more abstention would've made the 'ayes' 50, killing the bill due to a lack of votes (51 required to pass in the House). But there's more...

Third, Brian Quirk, D Representative from north central/east Iowa voted for the bill after indicating to people in his district, lobbyists on the hill and his own priest that he was against it. Besides that, there's a nasty rumor going around - which is unconfirmed as of yet - that Quirk took a phone call from Sheryl Crow about the bill. Who does Brian Quirk represent - the people of Iowa or Hollywood elite?

If you want to let Representative Quirk know what you think - in a polite, respectful manner, of course - here is his contact information:

Brian Quirk
1011 Sunset
New Hampton, IA 50659
641.394.4550
Brian.Quirk@legis.state.ia.us

And if you know of anyone up that way who'd be a good candidate to run against him, put a bug in their ear - and make a post on this blog about it, so appropriate steps can be taken toward recruiting that candidate.

Just to re-cap. Cloning is now legal in Iowa. Last night's vote turned a Class C Felony into a praise-worthy, hope-instilling act of compassion. Unbelievable.

Anonymous said...

California Rock Star Sways Iowa Cloning Vote

CHELSEA, Mich., Feb. 23 -- The national Catholic based advocacy group Fidelis condemned the 52-46 vote by the Iowa House of Representatives in favor of a bill that lifts a four-year-old ban on human cloning. The approved legislation legalizes embryonic cloning and killing for stem cell research. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Chet Culver, who actively lobbied for its passage.

Fidelis President Joseph Cella stated: "The most outrageous incident surrounding the debate over this legislation involved State Representative Brian Quirk (D-New Hampton), who is Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus. Representative Quirk changed his vote under tremendous pressure, which included a call from rock star Sheryl Crow who called him on his cell phone the evening before the final vote to urge him to vote 'yes' on the legislation.


"Crow has been a champion of abortion rights, performing at 'Rock for Choice' concerts and is a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. She is the last person Iowans, particularly a Catholic legislator who claims to be pro-life, should look to when it comes to protecting human life," Cella said.

The bill, SF 162, titled the 'Iowa Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative,' is a deceptive proposal that would repeal the current state law banning human cloning in order to allow "somatic cell nuclear transfer" techniques, a form of embryonic cloning, that could be used for embryonic stem cell research.

"Thursday's vote was a shameful and cowardly flip flop on the part of the Iowa legislature. Four years ago, the legislature made human cloning a felony to protect their state, but now they believe it is perfectly fine to clone and destroy human embryos for research that many skeptics believe will not lead to a single cure."

Were it not for Representative Quirk's vote, the bill would not have received enough votes needed to advance to the Governor for his signature. The Iowa Constitution requires that in order for a bill to become law, 51 votes or more are needed. Representative Betty DeBoef (R-Keokuk) inadvertently cast an "aye" vote and explained in the House Journal she intended to vote "nay."

Cella said: "These legislators deceived the people of Iowa by telling them that the current proposal would not involve human cloning, simply because the process did not involve the use of sperm. In fact, the legislation explicitly authorizes the use of scientific techniques that involve the cloning of human embryos for research purposes."

The Activist said...

Thanks for your great comments everyone! This is exactly the kind of discussion I was hoping for!

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