It's cloning but it's not really cloning

Don't offer your arm to an alligator because he may decide to take your whole arm. That's the lesson that Massachusetts' governor Mitt Romney is learning after agreeing to kill "leftover" embryos for research but wanting to stop human cloning.

Two of Massachusetts' state senators recently penned an op-ed with this outright lie:

" Some opponents have attempted to create fear and confusion by raising unfounded concerns and suggesting that our bill opens the door to human cloning. It does not. The bill does allow researchers to create small groups of cells (too tiny to be seen by the human eye) that can serve as a source of replacement tissue for damaged organs or as a cure for life-threatening illnesses. This remarkable process, somatic cell nuclear transfer (or ''therapeutic cloning"), allows researchers to develop small groups of cells identical to a patient's specific illness, so that a patient can avoid immune-suppressive drugs which cause pain and suffering during organ transplants, or terminal illness treatment. Opponents carelessly attack this type of research as ''cloning new embryos," but somatic cell nuclear transfer does not involve the creation of fertilized eggs, nor does it involve the cloning of human beings."

We're not cloning embryos and then killing them by removing their cells. No, no, no, we're just cloning cells. We can't have prolifers telling the truth umm... "carelessly attacking" somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) by telling the public that SCNT is the scientific term for cloning.

Their legislation even defines an embryo as including "any human embryo whether formed by fertilization, somatic cell nuclear transfer, parthenogenesis, or other means." (emphasis mine)

Also, notice how they use the word "can" twice with regards to what cloned embryonic stem cells "can" do. Maybe I'm being picky but shouldn't that be "might" or "we hope that this research can" when no one has been cured with embryonic stem cells, much less embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos.

They continue by saying, "We cannot let their hope be taken hostage by ignorance, misinformation, or political posturing."

We'd rather instill a false hope and get rid of ethical dilemmas by using ignorance, misinformation, and political posturing.

The really sad thing is that Travaglini (one of the senators) is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Wesley Smith has more at The Corner.