Bishop Morlino, pro-life leaders support ban of selling fetal body parts in WI

MADISON -- “People can never be reduced to things,” said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison as he concluded his testimony before the State Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on August 11.

Bishop Morlino spoke in support of Assembly Bill 305 (AB 305), which would make it illegal to sell and use fetal body parts from an abortion in the state of Wisconsin.

The bill was authored by State Representatives André Jacque (R-DePere) and Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) with support from State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and other state lawmakers.

It comes after videos were released reportedly showing discussion among Planned Parenthood officials relating to the sale of fetal body parts.

The bill was introduced to the committee on August 11. Community members, including Bishop Morlino, came out to testify in support of the bill, as did those who were opposed to its passage.

“Every fertilized egg is a unique individual of the human species,” said Bishop Morlino during his testimony. “To say that a unique individual of the human species is not a human being is quite a jump, but then to dismember it in precisely such a way that it is useful for other purposes makes a person into a thing,” he added. “Our human reason tells us that human people are never things.”

Opponents of the bill made the argument that the ban could halt important life-saving research [Soylent Green much?] in the health care field where researchers use fetal body parts for their work.

continue at MadCatHerald 

WI Bills Circulating in State Legislature to Ban the Sale and Use of Aborted Baby Body Parts

State Representatives Andre Jacque (R-DePere) and Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) are currently circulating for co-sponsorship legislation that would ban the sale and use of aborted human fetal body parts. Representative Jacque is also circulating for co-sponsorship legislation that would continue the defunding of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) that began with Governor Walker’s first budget in 2011.


Banning the sale and use of aborted human fetal body parts (LRB 1645/2)

LRB 1645/2 would prohibit the sale and use of aborted human fetal body parts. The bill bans persons from knowingly and for valuable consideration acquiring, receiving, or transferring a fetal body part. It also bans persons from knowingly providing, receiving, or using for experimentation a fetal body part. A fetal body part is a cell, tissue, organ, or other part of, or any material derived from any cell or tissue of, an unborn child who is aborted by an induced abortion. The legislation would also require the abortionist to determine, if medically possible, the gender of the preborn child and report it to the Department of Health Services (DHS). It also establishes new provisions on the proper disposal of aborted fetal remains, through either burial, interment, entombment, cremation, or incineration. The lack of current standard allows for disposal of fetal remains as trash or medical waste.

There is documented evidence of the UW-Madison conducting research on human fetal brain and pancreatic tissue. These preborn children did not consent to their abortions and certainly did not consent to experimentation. We expect Wisconsin’s medical research community to procure fetal tissue ethically; for example, from stillbirths or miscarriages with maternal consent.  Federal law prohibits the interstate trafficking of human fetal body parts. Wisconsin’s intrastate commercial activity must have a similar prohibition so that we can guarantee the highest ethical standards of academic research and medical care in our state.