Minnesota Gov Candidate Hatch Wants $ for Embryonic Stem Cell Research 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 2, 2006
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) — Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, the Democratic candidate for governor, says he wants to force state taxpayers to spend $100 million on embryonic stem cell research if he is elected. The state’s leading pro-life group condemned the idea and said embryonic stem cell research is wrong because it involves the destruction of human life.
Hatch said that President Bush’s veto of a Congressional bill authorizing more taxpayer funds for the controversial research left a hole that states need to fill with state dollars.
He also said that he wants Minnesota to become a leader in stem cell research and said it could ultimately provide cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, even though numerous scientists have said that Alzheimer’s likely won’t be helped by the research.
"As governor, I will make substantial investments in stem cell research at the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute," he told reporters, according to an AP report.
"We’re now at the next step and we can’t afford to fall behind," he said.
However, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life condemned Hatch’s plan to destroy human life to advance science.
“Mike Hatch is clamoring to occupy the governor’s mansion in order to wage war on the most vulnerable members of the human family," Scott Fischbach, MCCL’s executive director, said in a statement provided to LifeNews.com.
“If Hatch cannot be trusted to protect the most defenseless among us, how can he be trusted at all?” he asked.
Fischbach said that MCCL strongly supports stem cell research and pointed to the success adult stem cell research has had in providing treatments for dozens of diseases without sacrificing human life. He pointed out that embryonic stem cell research has yet to cure a single patient.
“Mike Hatch has clearly fallen for the false hype that killing embryos is essential to developing cures,” Fischbach said. “Now he wants to divert taxpayer funds that could be used for effective stem cell research and put it into research that has yielded no hope, only failures.”
Fischbach also said he wasn’t surprised at Hatch’s announcement because "Hatch’s proposal for state funds to destroy human embryos goes hand-in-hand with his support for taxpayer-funded abortions."
In the gubernatorial race, Hatch faces pro-life Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson.
Related web sites:
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life – https://www.mccl.org
