"Life is Defended"

New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops
Vigorously Defend Dignity of Life Once Again
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill Killed in NM

ALBUQUERQUE - Friday, February 22, 2008-- IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Life at its utmost vulnerable state has once again been successfully defended. For the second year in a row, the bill to allow embryonic stem cell research in the State of New Mexico has been defeated. The New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops (NMCCB) vigorously defended the consistent ethic of life and opposed the proposed 2008 legislation by Governor Bill Richardson and Senator John Ryan to make embryonic stem cell research legal in New Mexico. The NMCCB (Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan, Archbishop of Santa Fe; Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, Bishop of Las Cruces; Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, Apostolic Administrator of Gallup; and Mr. Allen Sanchez, NMCCB Executive Director) tirelessly lobbied legislators to defeat Senate Bill 23 during the recent 2008 New Mexico Legislative Session.

Senate Bill 23 would have legalized the funding of embryonic stem cell research at the University of New Mexico. The proposed Bill would have specifically granted the State the authority to take into its possession live human embryos, and the authority to decide when and how to terminate life. On February 14 at 12:00 p.m., Senate Bill 23 died on the House Judiciary Committee’s desk. Embryonic stem cell research no longer looms on the horizon, at least until the next legislative session.

Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Bishop Ricardo Ramírez testified before the Senate Consumers and Public Affairs Committee reiterating the Church stance – embryos are human life. The proponents of the legislation argued that the targeted embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics would never become human life; therefore, it was acceptable to use them for stem cell research.

Senate Bill 23 passed two Senate Committees and passed out of the Senate 20 to 18. In the House of Representatives, the bill passed the House Consumers and Public Affairs Committee. It was only during the final Committee meeting, the House Judiciary Committee, that enough legislators committed to table the motion. The Committee sat on the SB23 for a week allowing the clock to kill it.

At the close of the Session some reporters compared SB 23 to a run away train. The proposed legislation was derailed by the legislators’ strong commitment to the value of human life. This is the second year that the Governor has attempted to run embryonic stem cell research through the legislature. The 2007 bill also died in the House Judiciary Committee.

Through the NMCCB, the Bishops of New Mexico lobby legislators and teach on moral and ethical issues. The Bishops are committed to a consistent ethic of life. Contact: Allen Sanchez 505.319.3334—END