Letter
Cardinal Keeler's Letter to the U.S. Senate Regarding Stem Cell Research (2005)
Cardinal William H. Keeler's Letter to the U.S. Senate Regarding Stem Cell Research, July 11, 2005
"I am writing to urge your support for the "Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005" (S. 1317) sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch. The House version of this bill (H.R. 2520), sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, was approved 431-to-1 by the House on May 24.
Embryonic stem cell research raises grave moral objections because it requires the destruction of human life, and its possible use in future treatments remains a speculation. By contrast, this bill relates to an area of stem cell research and treatment that is indisputably acceptable on moral grounds and remarkably promising in terms of clinical benefits: The use of umbilical cord blood retrieved immediately after live births."