Anti-abortion group sees a few successes this session

Anti-abortion programs and opposition to human cloning fared well under the governor’s watchful eye toward the end of the legislative session — and that has earned Gov. Tim Pawlenty high marks from anti-abortion activists. But, despite those few successes, much of the agenda of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) went unfulfilled.

“MCCL applauds this move by Governor Pawlenty and legislators toward protecting life from replication, manipulation and destruction,” said Scott Fischbach, executive director of the state’s largest anti-abortion group. “Human life must be treated with dignity, not as mere raw material for experimentation.”

Pawlenty signed the higher education omnibus bill last week that had been amended with language prohibiting “human cloning” (Reps. Steve Smith, R-Mound; Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault; Dave Olin, DFL-Thief River Falls; Matt Dean, R-Dellwood; and Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers, offered the amendment and it passed the House by a vote of 71 to 60 on April 22).

“MCCL applauds Gov. Pawlenty and the state Legislature for establishing a clear ethical boundary which upholds the integrity of the human embryo and opposes the commodification of the human body,” said Fischbach “The majority of Americans and Minnesotans oppose human cloning and do not want to be forced to pay for it.”

The “human cloning” that MCCL opposes is not the actual cloning of people, but the process of inserting genetic material into an egg to create stem cells and potentially create new organs for transplant. The process is called somatic cell nuclear transfer and there are currently no human trials of the procedure.

No entities in Minnesota, or the United States for that matter, are known to be attempting to clone whole human beings.

Pawlenty also earned praise for not cutting any funds from the Positive Alternatives program, a state fund that gives money to faith-based organizations with the purpose of persuading women to forgo abortion.

The state has spent $9.7 million on the initiative since its creation in 2006. “The state’s Positive Alternatives program remains fully funded for the 2009-2010 biennium, thanks to the support of pro-life Gov. Tim Pawlenty and state legislators in both parties,” stated MCCL in a press release.

Several of MCCL’s initiatives did not make it to Pawlenty’s desk, however. MCCL put forward bills to ban abortions covered by state health care programs and to ban saline abortions, but those efforts did not make it out of committee.