NORTH BRANCH, NJ — At a shareholders meeting for Merck pharmaceutical company last month, two pro-life groups who have acquired enough stock in the company to put forward resolutions had a resolution passed to force the company to make known its use of aborted fetal tissue in its vaccines. Father Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, revealed to the meeting that the company was profiting illicitly from the sale of vaccines manufactured with tissues from aborted babies. Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God For Life blasted the Board for their inherent disregard for the American public's plea for ethical vaccines. “I've heard a lot of talk today about how Merck is so highly committed to ethical behavior, but that is pretty hard to swallow in light of your business practices.” In a prepared statement to the Board, Vinnedge went on to say, “Certainly, abortion is an acutely painful, controversial, and bitterly divisive issue. Any manufacturer that deliberately and needlessly chooses to utilize abortion-derived cell lines causes great hardship for thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide by excluding a large number of them from the benefits of preventative medicine. Whether by intent or indifference, such action constitutes an attempt to force the acceptance of fetal exploitation.”
Father Euteneuer explained that aborted fetal cell lines such as the newly created PER C6 which would be used in their new HIV vaccine come from aborted babies. “This fetal cell line was taken from the retinal tissue of an 18 week gestation baby and Merck just bought the rights on it last year. We demand that you give full disclosure of this activity to your shareholders!” His words were greeted with an immediate round of applause from the audience. As the meeting drew to a close the shareholder votes were tallied and read. In order for the resolution to be adopted, 3% of the proxy votes would be needed. The pro-life resolution drew nearly 5% with final numbers to be added in the coming days. It was a great victory for the Campaign and the pro-life movement for it now sets the stage for further action, much of which will be sorted out during the coming weeks.
Stem Cells Used To Create Brain Cells
Scientists at the University of Minnesota Medical School have used adult stem cells to create brain cells in mice. Further research could one day lead to treatments for Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's, Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.
Dr. Walter Low led the U.S. team that injected stem cells from adult mice into a mouse blastocyst (an embryonic mouse) to create a chimera — an animal with both its own cells and transplanted stem cells. Tests revealed that the latter had successfully developed into functioning nerve cells. The next step will be to test the process on mice with neurological disorders . The findings are published in Cell Transplantation,The Official Journal of the Cell Transplant Society .
For BBC coverage:Stem cells 'turn into brain cells'
(These updates courtesy of LifeSite News.)
