Legislation would authorize partial birth abortions up to the day of delivery and establish human embryo and fetal farms in NJ

Today, 25 NJ Senators shamefully embraced gruesome and destructive research in which human beings will be experimented on for their desired cells and/or organs. In addition to allowing embryonic human beings left over from infertility clinics to be dissected and killed, S1909 allows the artificial manufacture of cloned human beings to be implanted into a uterus at the embryonic stage and harvested for research and killed at any time from the embryonic period through the ninth month of gestation. Commenting on the legislation, Marie Tasy, Director of Public & Legislative Affairs for New Jersey Right to Life, said, “this is truly mad science.”

“The sponsors, with the help of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, have politicized this issue and attempted to persuade public opinion with distortions and false promises of curing ‘Superman’ and other maladies through this misguided legislation,” said Tasy. “The truth of the matter,” said Tasy, “is that embryonic stem cells have not helped a single human being, and in fact, have actually led to mutation, tumor formation and tissue rejection in humans.”

“In their quest for national fame and notoriety, NJ lawmakers have acted irresponsibly to create a foul climate where ghoulish human experimentation and organ harvesting will be performed and human embryo and fetal farms will flourish throughout our state,” said Tasy. “Because the prohibited conduct of cloning a human being draws the line only at the newborn stage, abortions including partial birth abortions up to the day of delivery would be authorized under this legislation,” noted Tasy. “Under this bill, human lives will be treated as a commodity, creating classes of lesser humans to be sacrificed for the good of humanity,” said Tasy. “How ironic that this same body of government which legislated protection for animals and living invertebrate animal organisms is now seeking to make it the public policy of NJ to allow lethal experimentation on living human beings,” said Tasy. (Reference: S240 passed Sept. 12, 2002.)

Tasy said NJRTL would score each Senator’s vote and make this information available to NJ registered voters in each of the 40 legislative districts at election time.

25 Senators voted in favor. 15 Abstained

5 Republican Senators voted in favor of S1909. They are:

• Robert Singer (R-30)
• Richard Bagger (R-21)
• Joseph Palaia (R-11)
• Senator Joseph Kyrillos, who is also State Republican Chairman (R-13)
• Bill Gormley(R-2)

All 20 Democracts voted in favor of S1909.
They are:

• Senator John Adler (D-6)
• Byron Baer (D-37)
• Wayne Bryant (D-5)
• Barbara Buono (D-18, sponsor)
• Joseph Charles (D-31)
• Richard Codey (D-27, sponsor)
• Joseph Coniglio (D-38)
• Garry Furnari, Jr. (D-36)
• Nia Gill (D-34)
• John Girgenti (D-35)
• Sharpe James (D-29)
• Bernard Kenny, Jr. (D-33)
• Raymond Lesniak (D-20)
• Ronald Rice (D-28)
• Nicholas Sacco (D-32)
• Bob Smith (D-17)
• Joseph Suliga (D-22)
• Stephen Sweeney (D-3)
• Shirley Turner (D-15)
• Joseph Vitale (D-19 sponsor)

15 of 20 Republicans abstained on S1909.
They are:

• Senator Diane Allen (R-7)
• Martha Bark (R-8)
• John Bennett (R-12)
• Anthony Bucco (R-25)
• James Cafiero (R-1)
• Gerald Cardinale (R-39)
• Andy Ciesla (R-10)
• Len Connors (R-9)
• Peter Inverso (R-14)
• Walter Kavanaugh (R-16)
• Leonard Lance (R-23)
• Robert Littell (R-24)
• Robert Martin (R-26)
• John Matheussen (R-4)
• Henry McNamara (D-40)