Acting-governor’s agenda includes positions that violate Church teaching
Second of two parts
By Erick Rommel
Head Staff Writer
Although unknown to most people in the state, acting-Governor Richard J. Codey will spend the next 14 months in office controlling a far greater amount of power than the typical New Jersey governor. Because Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned from office, the state Constitution placed “the functions, powers, duties and emoluments of the office” in the hands of Codey, president of the state Senate. As the result of holding dual offices, acting- Gov. Codey could – if he chooses – use the bully pulpit of the governor’s office to increase public pressure on his legislative counterparts to enact his agenda.
Last week in The Catholic Spirit, Codey’s backing of a variety of measures ranging from the reduction of the blood alcohol level needed to be considered legally drunk to his advocacy for better mental health standards across the state were discussed. While many people of all political persuasions applaud these measures, others that he supports create a sharp divide, and are in direct conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church, of which he is a member.
Stem Cell Research
A stem cell research bill Codey sponsored that became law during the 2002-2003 legislative session may be the most controversial of his career.
“This law is one of the most significant laws ever passed in the State of New Jersey,” he said after Gov. McGreevey signed the Stem Cell Research Act which legalized embryonic stem cell research in New Jersey.“With its passage, New Jersey finally gets to show the world exactly where we stand on stem cell research. We stand on the side of hope and on the side of cures for millions of people who are suffering in the world.”
“I am somewhat disheartened that so many of our legislators who are Catholic go against the Church’s teachings on the value and beauty of life,” said Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski Dec. 16, 2003 after the bill was sent to Gov. McGreevey’s desk. “As legislators that do so many other wonderful things, why is it that they care so little about life?”
After McGreevey signed the bill, Bishop Bootkoski joined with the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey Jan. 5, 2004 speaking out against the law. “We believe it is more important than ever to stand for the principle that government must not treat any living human being as research material, as a mere means for benefit to others. Research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human being for the possible benefit to others is morally unacceptable. We do not want a world where life is a commodity, manufactured and destroyed at will to serve others.”
The current practice is to grow an embryo in the laboratory for five to seven days. At this point the stem cells are taken out (harvested), killing the embryo, so that experiments can be conducted.
Adult stem cells, however, are found in most parts of the body, including umbilical cord blood, and have demonstrated success in treating a variety of serious illnesses.
“Adult stem cells have been used to treat stroke and spinal cord injures [as well as] heart damage, diabetes [and] Parkinson’s,” said Dr. David Prentice at the diocesan Critical Life Issues Conference Oct. 9 in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. Prentice is a senior fellow for life sciences with the Family Research Council.
“While we vehemently oppose embryonic stem cell research, it must be emphasized that the Church does support adult stem-cell research, which does not involve the killing of humans,” said Bishop Bootkoski in a column written in The Catholic Spirit April 29, 2004.“Adult stem cells are obtained from donors who live after their donation, not embryos whose lives are sacrificed in the name of science.”
In addition to allowing embryonic stem cell research, the law declares “a person who knowingly engages or assists, directly or indirectly, in the cloning of a human being is guilty of a crime of the first degree,” and goes on to define “cloning of a human being” as “the replication of a human individual by cultivating a cell with genetic material through the egg, embryo, fetal and newborn stages into a new human individual.”
While the law forbids cloning, those opposed to the legislation call it the “Clone and Kill” law, saying it doesn’t forbid the creation and destruction of an embryo.
“The public at large has to be made aware that the bill doesn’t just allow extra embryos from clinics. It also allows the creation of new embryos from cloning,” explained Marie Tasy, public and legislative affairs director, New Jersey Right to Life, and member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown. “It’s a myriad of contradictions riddled with loopholes. It makes cloning a crime, but the definition makes it clear . . . they can implant, gestate, harvest and kill a human being and use its organs, parts and tissues for experimental research up until birth.”
Acting-Gov. Codey also supports adding state funding for the New Jersey Stem Cell Institute which was created in May. So far, it’s received $9.5 million from the legislature and an additional $2 million from Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Much more is needed for the Institute to become viable. On Nov. 9, Wise Young, a spinal cord researcher at Rutgers, and Ira Black, a neuroscientist at UMDNJ, said they would ask legislators for $1 billion to fund stem cell research in the state.
This is seen as a high-priority project because New Jersey sees itself in direct competition with California, where voters recently approved a ballot referendum authorizing the spending of $3 billion on stem cell research.
“New Jersey will become the magnet for scientists eager to create life for experimentation, to kill embryos with the potential of a full human life,” Bishop Bootkoski said in his April commentary.
“Making sure New Jersey remains a national leader in stem cell research will be one of my highest priorities as governor,” Codey said in a statement read at a state sponsored science summit in New Brunswick Nov. 11. “This will be remembered as an important moment in world history.”
Abortion
Support for issues contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church isn’t limited to stem cell research. New Jersey Right to Choose, a group with a mission to “advocate and educate to keep abortion safe, accessible, and legal” gives Codey its pro-choice rating.
“He has a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record,” said Tasy. “He voted against banning partial birth abortion twice,” once opposing a bill to ban the procedure, and again voting to uphold Gov. Christie Todd Whitman’s veto, which was overridden.
Codey also voted against the parental notification law enacted in 1999 which was later rejected in 2000 by the New Jersey Supreme Court. It ruled that the law violated the equal protection clause of the state Constitution because it placed a burden on minors seeking abortions that it did not impose on those who chose to continue their pregnancies.
He also voted against a measure that would have let voters decide whether the legislature could require parental notification before abortions could be performed on unmarried girls under 18.
Contraceptive Coverage
Also on the legislative agenda during acting-Gov. Codey’s term, a bill that requires all healthcare organizations that provide prescription benefits to include coverage for contraceptives.
The measure is opposed by both the Catholic HealthCare Partnership of New Jersey and the New Jersey Catholic Conference. In a joint statement issued after an Oct. 4 hearing of the New Jersey Assembly Health and Human Services Committee, the groups said, “We oppose [the bill] because it represents an unprecedented assault upon the religious freedom rights of churches in general and the Catholic Church in particular.”
The bill under consideration includes a limited conscience clause, which allows a church or church-operated school to not provide coverage for contraceptives on the basis that it conflicts with the religious employers’ belief and practices. Because it’s a limited clause, church ministries such as Catholic Charities and Catholic hospitals would not be excluded, meaning they’d have to pay for contraceptives.
Both groups support a modified version of the bill, similar to one signed into law in California (which was legally challenged), that contains a complete conscience clause.
“Although an extremely undesirable option, enactment of a mandated contraceptive benefit with a limited conscience clause could force us to cancel prescription drug coverage for employees at these organizations,” the statement from the Catholic HealthCare Partnership and NJCC added.
Budget Crisis
For any of acting-Gov. Codey’s agenda items to become reality, he has to reign in a state budget facing a greater than $4 billion deficit and little flexibility in how the budget will be balanced.
Because the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that borrowing money to balance the state budget is unconstitutional, the legislature will need to find budget areas that can be cut and possibly find new streams of revenue. One likely proposal would be an increase of the state gasoline tax. Last year, a panel of transportation experts recommended an increase in the tax from 10.5 cents to 23 cents per gallon.
Other items topping his list for action include a makeover of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, including a new Giants Stadium, with the teams footing most of the bill and changes in the state’s campaign finance and ethics laws. The first bill he sponsored during the 2004-2005 legislative session would prohibit legislative agents from accepting contingency fees to influence legislation or regulation. Codey has also said he will honor an executive order signed by Gov. McGreevey which restricted campaign contributions by state contractors.
What Can He Do?
How much Codey can accomplish during his 14 months acting as governor depends a lot on whether he wants to retain the job beyond next year’s gubernatorial election. If he does choose to run, he could face tough opposition within his own party from U.S. Senator Jon Corzine.
“I believe the acting governor will be a good leader of our state and its citizens,” said Msgr. Michael Kelly, headmaster of Seton Hall Prep, who prayed in the Codey home before the new acting governor was sworn in. “He has been in political office for over 30 years and knows the state and the issues, past, present and future, as well as anyone. He has always been a political servant who has looked after those who have special needs - psychiatric, emotional, health, financial and educational.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law