Obama’s National Institute of Health announced on Wednesday that it was offering up 13 new cell lines for research, after harvesting the cells from preborn children killed for that purpose – presumably by the federal government itself. The embryonic stem cells are the first fruits of the president’s decision in January to use federal tax dollars to harvest and research cells collected from aborted children.

Meanwhile, the Washington Times (12,06.09) carries a report that two firms in Massachusetts are making great strides on using stem cells collected using non-cannibalistic methods. Biocell Center has opened the first amniotic-fluid stem cell bank. This center allows for research on stem cells collected from babies’ amniotic sac – which does not involve their destruction.

Advanced Cell Technology is building stem cell research material by collecting a single stem cell from babies in the womb – which also preserves the baby’s life. Their efforts are presently focused on curing blindness.

The advances from these two firms are just a piece of the ground being gained by researchers using non-destructive methods for exploring the wonders of God’s creation, and underscore the fact that killing a preborn child for her stem cells is a willful and unjustifiable choice.

Obama’s stubborn pursuit of killing in the name of “research” and “health care” is becoming more a study in the failings of human nature than a noble pursuit of helping people.

As Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia so eloquently put it this week, “… we make a distinction between killing and health care.”

Let us pray that it is a distinction the American people can hold onto as we continue to labor under a morally-corrupt national leadership.