Retired Heart Surgeon Is Opposed to Castle-DeGette Legislation

 

 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr., M.D. today joined other lawmakers at the White House to applaud President Bush for his veto of legislation that would allow federal funding to destroy human embryos.  Boustany, a retired heart surgeon, voted against the Castle-DeGette legislation (H.R. 810) when it passed the House last year.  President Bush’s veto was sustained by the House tonight by a vote of 235 to 193.

 

“It is ethically wrong to destroy human life, and H.R. 810 would allow for federal funding to destroy human embryos,” said Boustany.  “As a heart surgeon, I have dealt with life and death.  I have held damaged hearts in my hands, and I have seen how powerful human emotions, coupled with hope, can be.  But human emotions coupled with false hope and misinformation are dangerous.” 

 

“It is irresponsible to spend scarce federal dollars on false promises when there are certainly alternatives with existing treatments that do not create an ethical dilemma,” added Boustany.  “Adult stem cells have been used to treat 58 human diseases, and they do so without taking away what we are trying to preserve in the first place - life.”

 

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