Protecting stem cells, not children

Missing 8-year-old Shasta Groene was found at a restaurant in her Idaho hometown dining with her kidnapper, a registered sex offender. Police suspect he killed her 9-year-old brother and murdered her mother, another brother and the mother's boyfriend. Law enforcement agencies have lost track of thousands of registered sex offenders, including many who are likely stalking their next victim right now.

People were surprised to learn that Shasta's kidnapper was out free on bond even though he had a long history as a violent sexual predator. Only sixteen states, however, have laws preventing sexual predators from being released even when they remain a clear threat.

The larger question is why is it more important for church organizations pushing legislative agendas to protect cells in a Petri dish and a patient in a persistent vegetative state whose brain tissue had largely dissolved away. It's a scary thought considering that some of the most politically powerful churches in the United States have created and protected a legion of priests who sexually abuse children.

When religious leaders become mostly legalistic and use their power and influence to make the law mostly religious, even the laws of a democracy can no longer protect the innocent.

Related reading:

Is Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Immoral?

Terry Schiavo