|
The
“New” Tom Finneran Was on Beacon Hill Yesterday Lobbying to Kill Embryos
Do
the Rest of the Our Leaders Also See an Opportunity to Earn More Income?
By MassNews Staff
Shortly
after 11:00 AM yesterday, the 184th session of the Massachusetts
House and Senate officially convened on Beacon Hill.
Rep. Sal DiMasi, a Democrat from North Boston, was elected to his first full
term as House speaker by 137 Democrats.
Stressing the need to restructure the way the legislature is run,
DiMasi promised in his inaugural speech to “open the windows of this institution
and let the light of the 21st Century in.”
Specifically mentioned was what he deemed were the shortcomings
of the use of committees when crafting legislation, and in particular,
with respect to the biotech industry.
This should be of concern to pro-family
groups, who might worry that Rep. DiMasi may try to push through an agenda
including money for embryonic stem cell research. The new “structure”
may be to minimize Republican opposition.
Previous House sessions under
former Speaker Finneran kept the issue at bay, with Finneran being solidly
against embryonic stem-cell research. Now, since Finneran has become a well-paid
lobbyist for the prominent biotech company that specializes in stem cell
projects, he has publicly come out in favor of the research.
During DiMasi’s speech, Finneran
applauded enthusiastically to DiMasi’s ideas. On the
Senate side, the desire to begin harvesting embryos for medical research
was even more overt. Senate President Robert Travaglini called for the quick passage
of stem cell research legislation. He
declared, “This issue has languished far too long. In the eyes of many,
we have lost ground in our competition with states such as California
and New Jersey. With swift action during this legislative session, we
can regain a competitive edge in this area. This is just one of many steps
we will take to help attract more jobs to Massachusetts.”
Travaglini invoked the imagery
that we are in a race with both California and New Jersey to see who can
spend the most in embryonic stem cell research, and the winner is the
state that can destroy the highest number of embryos with public money.
Later in the day, Speaker DiMasi told
reporters that he agrees with Travaglini "100 percent" on the
issue of stem cell research. "I think stem cell research is one of
the most important things we can do to generate the biotech industry and
generate an atmosphere where businesses and people can invest their money
here in Massachusetts and create jobs."
|
