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Thanks to Louisiana Congressmen Abraham and Johnson for Standing Up for Life

By October 2, 2018Louisiana
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Dear Friend of CWA of Louisiana,

Two Congressmen from the great State of Louisiana have been successful in dealing another blow to those who traffic in human fetal tissue.

Last week, Congressman Ralph Abraham, MD, announced that the FDA canceled a contract with Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR), which was one of the tissue procurement labs that, due to 2015’s undercover videos, is currently under investigation by the U.S Department of Justice. In 2015 the Center for Medical Progress videos revealed that ABR had set up a model that broke federal law by allowing clinics to profit from the sale of fetal tissue. Although fetal tissue research is legal, the profiting from said tissue is not. Federal law allows for costs like transportation and storage to be covered, but no one may profit from the sale of fetal tissue.

The contract was cancelled in part because Congressman Abraham (R-District 5-Louisiana) and Congressman Mike Johnson (R-District 4-Louisiana), along with 83 other members of Congress, wrote to FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb earlier this month urging him to cancel the contract with ABR.

Additionally, groups like CWA worked with HHS to voice concerns over this contract and fetal tissue research in general. In a release, HHS said they cannot be sure the contract with ABR meets current federal requirements for fetal tissue procurement and, therefore, terminated it.

In addition, HHS has initiated a comprehensive review of all research involving fetal tissue to ensure consistency with statutes and regulations governing such research, and to ensure the adequacy of procedures and oversight of this research in light of the serious regulatory, moral, and ethical considerations involved. Finally, HHS is continuing to review whether adequate alternatives exist to the use of human fetal tissue in HHS funded research and will ensure that efforts to develop such alternatives are funded and accelerated. This administration is vocally and unabashedly pro-life, and it is unacceptable that ANY research is being funded by tax dollars that utilize fetal tissue. 

Federal law prohibits profiting from the sale of human fetal tissue, yet we know that it happens all too often. When the tissue of aborted children becomes a lucrative enterprise, the possibility of human pregnancy mills growing babies only to abort them and sell their tissue, becomes a horrific possibility. Medical research should be focused on ethical alternatives that are producing results; fetal tissue research has yet to successfully produce any therapies to this day. Thank goodness for pro-life elected officials like Congressman Abraham and Johnson who work to restrain such evil prospects.

However, Congress had the ability, through the appropriations process, to end the federal funding of this practice. There was an amendment offered and adopted into the House version of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill that would have made such practices illegal. It is disappointing that after getting this rider in the bill last year and again with significant support this year, that House and Senate leadership yet again failed to push for such a basic pro-life provision and instead rolled over to give democrats everything that they wanted.  

Let Us Both PRAY and ACT:

Please Pray: Pray for Congressman Abraham and Congressman Johnson that they would continue to be bold in their fight for pro-life values and that God would give them the knowledge, wisdom, and courage to continue to engage the enemy in an effective way. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). 

Please Take Action:

1.      Contact both Congressman Abraham (R) and Congressman Johnson (R) to thank them for being aware of this atrocity and for taking decisive action to stop it.

Congressman Abraham: (202) 225-8490 and/or email
Congressman Johnson: (202) 225-2777 and/or
email

2.      Contact members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee and ask them to support a federal ban on fetal tissue research.

House Appropriations Committee (Contact the entire committee in one email)

Senate Appropriations Committee (Each individual must be contacted)

 Let our voices resound in the heavens through the power of our prayers, and, on earth, as we take action.

For Truth and Righteousness,

Sancha Noel Smith
State Director
CWA of Louisiana
P.O. Box 2446
Opelousas, LA 70571
(337) 308-8696
director@louisiana.cwfa.org
la.cwfa.org


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