And what is my Congressman's position? Ack!

Since the first target of my advocacy effort is The Honorable Congressman John Carter I thought it would be a good idea to know what his official position on stem cell research is. This will give me a clue as to how my letter should be organized and what parts of it should be emphasized. I assumed that if he’s proud of his position on the issue then he would have it posted on his Web site. And there I found it:

Carter Comments On Stem Cell Legislation

Washington, May 24, 2005 -

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative John R. Carter (TX-31), a former state district judge of 20 years, made the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 810, which would allow federal tax dollars to fund stem cell research:

"I cannot convey the deep disappointment that I have in my heart. I fully support advances in medical research, but I believe the government has a legitimate purpose of protecting the most helpless and innocent of our society – the unborn child.

"Tonight, we failed to achieve our purpose, but strived to correct our mistake by passing H.R. 2520 which would authorize medical research on human cord blood stem cells without causing harm to the mother or child."

Obviously he and I are not on the same page on this issue. So it seems my email to him should include something that would enlighten him on the issue as well as emphasize how an elected official’s position on this issue will weigh heavily on how I vote.

However, I wonder what real value there is in writing him when he is so proud of being in the minority on this issue? I could remind him that he IS in the minority with only 37% opposed to it and 54% supporting it. I could point out that he is not protecting anyone - in fact his position is potentially condemning tens of thousands of U.S. citizens to death by HD. If anyone else has any thought on what I should include please feel free to comment.

Next I'm going to get as much current information as I can about the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act bill (as recommended by the EFF advocacy page). It was suggested that it would be more effective to refer to specific sections of the bill. Will knowing what I'm talking about REALLY make me more effective? :-)