Dear Editor:
For over two years I have battled blindness as a result of Type II adult diabetes. For two years, I have searched in vain for a cure for this disability, looking into both proven and experimental treatments.
I was very heartened in 2001 when then-candidate Jim McGreevey announced that he was in favor of legalizing embryonic stem-cell research in New Jersey, providing hope to tens of thousands of New Jerseyans like myself who are suffering from diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries and the like. I was also very pleased to hear Governor McGreevey promise to follow through on his campaign pledge last month during his State of the State address.
On Monday, my sister, Barbara drove me to Trenton so I can testify at the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee in support of A2840. This bill to legalize stem-cell research is co-sponsored by Hudson’s own Joan Quigley. I was met with organized resistance in the form of the Christian Coalition and related religious lobbyists opposed to the bill. I was disappointed that these individuals who claim to be concerned about human suffering would attempt to derail the wishes of the majority of New Jerseyans on this important issue. It is too late for this bill to help older individuals like myself, but I want to ensure that younger generations of citizens will be able to fight their ailments with a hope that I did not have.
Its the policy of the Religious Right, regardless of the garments they wear, to deny the citizens of New Jersey some sort of hope for relief from the prisons of their illnesses. They cynically appeal to the Republicans to abstain on this bill, citing the GOPs base vote and even attempt to pick off a few Democrats in the process. It is because of this manipulation of the legislative process that I respectfully resign my E-25 Committee seat on the Hudson County Democratic Organization. I submit my resignation so that I may be free to support candidates who listen to the majority of citizens and not the lobbyists of the Christian Coalition and its allies.
New Jersey has long prided itself on being a state where the Religious Right has been unable to maintain its narrow-minded stranglehold on the public arena. New Jersey’s Democratic Party, and a few enlightened Republicans, have fought to ensure that our state does not become another Mississippi. Although I am disappointed in the actions of a few of our own party members on this bill, I know that the will of the people will not be subverted, and I plan to accompany Governor McGreevey and Speaker Sires later this year when the bill is signed into law.
Paul J. Byrne
Committeeman, Dist. E-25
Legislative District 31