News Release: Statement on Passage of Proposal 2

(LANSING)—Michigan Catholic Conference Vice President for Public Policy Paul A. Long made the following comments today after Proposal 08-2 [Link no longer available —Ed.] passed by a vote of 53-47:

“The margin of victory for Proposal 2 undoubtedly would have been much wider if it were not for the dedicated opposition of the Catholic Church in Michigan. Every priest, deacon, religious and layperson who helped spread the Church’s teaching that all human life, no matter how small, must be protected and defended, is to be praised for their courageous witness and dedication to the Truth. Michigan Catholic Conference is honored to have served with several hundred individuals and prominent grassroots organizations, medical professionals and elected officials through the MiCAUSE coalition in an effort to protect and preserve life in this great state.

“Regrettably, we exist in a society that seeks immediate gratification and pleasure, with a damaging tendency to fall victim to emotional appeals that lack any notion of good public policy. Enshrining in the state constitution a measure that prohibits the legislature from enacting any oversight or accountability measures related to the destruction of human embryos has unsettling consequences for the future. Considering embryonic stem cell research was legal and ongoing in Michigan before the passage of Proposal 2, it is impossible not to view this measure as anything but the creation of a new industry structured around the unregulated destruction of human life.

“The Church’s teaching in support of stem cell research that does not destroy the human embryo is clearer today than it was before this campaign began. Despite the passage of Proposal 2, Michigan Catholic Conference will continue to advocate before our elected officials for the promotion of ethical and proven stem cell research that today is benefiting those who are ill and suffering. Yet any attempt within the Legislature, whether by statute or appropriation, to expand further the destruction of human life in the name of research will meet the immediate opposition of the Michigan Catholic Conference.”

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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