Sam Brownback Says Wilberforce His Pro-Life Model, Condemns Human Cloning

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 1, 2007

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Sam Brownback, the Kansas senator seeking the GOP nomination for president, told LifeNews.com on Thursday that he's upset that the state of Iowa has approved a bill overturning its ban on human cloning. He also explained how anti-slavery advocate William Wilberforce is his model for his pro-life advocacy.

The Iowa legislature has approved a bill that would repeal its ban on all forms of human cloning and Brownback, who has sponsored congressional legislation to ban it, is dismayed by what's happened.

"Unfortunately, we have a bad trend starting and hopefully it's not a permanent trend," Brownback said in a telephone interview with LifeNews.com.

"The creation of human life for research purposes that was supposedly banned has now been overturned," he added. "Unfortunately, it appears [Iowa Gov. Chet Culver] will sign it into law."

Brownback said that, like slavery, human cloning for either research or reproductive purposes turns human beings into property.

"This is the creation of human life specifically for research," he said. "Any time we have done this in human nature, we have always regretted it. Are we going to make the same mistakes today?"

The senator explained that, with advanced in adult stem cell research, "we don't need to do this. We don't need to demean human life this way."

Brownback said the state of Delaware is considering a similar proposal to allow and promote human cloning and he urged lawmakers there to "reconsider what they're doing and think about the message they're sending to society if we can treat human life as property."

"It is not consistent with the values of the people. The science is going the other way and we can work together to find ways to research that are legitimate and morally acceptable," he said.

The Kansas senator responded to a question from LifeNews.com and said William Wilberforce, who is profiled in the recent movie "Amazing Grace," has been a model for his pro-life efforts to stop both abortion and cloning.

"I have modeled much of my work off of what he did," Brownback explained, saying Wilberforce often crossed party lines or other political issues to press his cause. "I will work with anybody on the political spectrum regarding these causes."

Brownback said that Wilberforce would likely be a strong pro-life advocate if he was an elected official now.

"If he were alive today, one of the greatest causes he would take up is the cause of human dignity and that applies to the child in the womb," Brownback said.

Brownback said that, like the British statesman's slavery fight, he thinks the battle against abortion and the mistreatment of unborn children will eventually be won.

"I believe Roe v. Wade will be overturned because it's not the right way to go -- because it treats human life as a piece of property. It was wrong then and it's wrong now."