President Bush Boldly Defends Life

President Bush Boldly Defends Life
Colson and Cameron Applaud the President’s Moral Courage
By The Wilberforce Forum
August 10, 2001

“The President has demonstrated enormous courage in the face of an impending political stampede, a rush to sacrifice human life. His position is principled and prudential, satisfying the legitimate questions of science while protecting foundational moral principles,” stated Charles Colson, Chairman of Prison Fellowship and The Wilberforce Forum and Nigel Cameron, Dean of The Wilberforce Forum and Founding Editor of Ethics and Medicine.

“President Bush has signaled a new direction in our culture by overturning the Clinton Administration’s decision to destroy human embryos for research purposes,” stated Colson and Cameron. “Although, the President’s limited decision to fund research on existing embryonic stem-cell lines offers ground for serious ethical disagreement, he clearly indicated that this covers only embryos for whom the life and death decision has already been made.”

“The President’s indication that the ‘most noble ends do not justify any means’ should send a strong signal to advocates of embryonic stem-cell experiments,” explained Colson and Cameron.

Colson and Cameron also welcomed President Bush’s affirmation that human life is a sacred gift from our Creator and enthusiastically supported his commitment to exploring non-embryonic stem-cells research. “Although this position may not satisfy the research community, we believe the clear implication of the president’s speech is that he will veto any legislation that does not support this position.”

“We are also pleased with Bush’s appointment of Dr. Leon Kass to chair an advisory council. Dr. Kass is one of the most respected commentators on technology and human dignity and he played a leading role in the victory for the Weldon cloning ban in the House of Representatives,” added Colson and Cameron.

“The President has made it unequivocally clear that his intent is to set public policy in the context of ethics. We applaud his courage, and look forward to working with him on these issues posed by advances in biotechnology,” stated Colson and Cameron.