Just when you thought they couldn’t get any more out of touch with reality, along comes a Republican lawmaker from Texas who proposed a bill outlawing something that doesn’t exist.
Sen. Bob Hall has put forth a bill to force companies to properly label any “food” or “food additive” made with human fetal tissue, defined as “tissue, cells, or organs obtained from an aborted unborn child.”
“Unfortunately, many Texans are unknowingly consuming products that either contain human fetal parts or were developed using human fetal parts,” a statement from Hall’s office reads. “While some may not be bothered by this, there are many Texans with religious or moral beliefs that would oppose consumption or use of these products.”
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An email to HuffPost from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson made it clear that Hall’s proposed bill is ridiculous.
“There are no conditions under which the FDA would consider human fetal tissue to be safe or legal for human or animal consumption,” the spokesperson wrote.
Even though food labels would not be impacted even if Hall’s clown car bill passed, the bill also includes proposed labels for medicine. It’s not uncommon in the research, testing, or development of drugs to use human fetal cell lines.
“Cells derived from elective abortions have been used since the 1960s to manufacture vaccines, including current vaccines against rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A, and shingles. They have also been used to make approved drugs against diseases including hemophilia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cystic fibrosis,” Science magazine reports.
The bill also mentions “medical products,” meaning “a medication, vaccine, or other medical product used in medical treatment,” containing human fetal tissue or cells “derived from research using human fetal tissue.”
The bill reads in part:
“A person may not sell, dispense, or administer in this state a fetal tissue medical product unless the product is clearly and conspicuously labeled in accordance with department rules.”
Not to be left out of Hall’s bill are also cosmetic products that allegedly contain human fetal tissue—another incomprehensible falsehood invented to scare people.
According to the Catholic activist organization American Life League (ALL), which opposes abortion, there is “no proof that any U.S. companies use aborted fetal cells in cosmetics,” and “pro-lifers have never documented any cases of collagen from freshly aborted babies being used in cosmetics in the United States.”
On the first episode of season two of The Downballot, we're talking with Sara Garcia, the strategy and outreach manager at Crooked Media—home of Pod Save America—about everything her organization does to mobilize progressives and kick GOP ass. Sara tells us how Crooked arose to fill a void in the media landscape, how it not only informs listeners but also gives them tools to take action, and some of her favorite shows that she loves to recommend to folks.
Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also discuss the Republican shitshow currently unfolding in Congress—and starkly different outcomes in two state legislatures that just elected new House speakers via bipartisan coalitions; the landslide win for the good guys in a special election primary in Virginia; why George Santos faces serious legal trouble that will very likely end with his resignation; and the massive pushback from progressive groups and labor unions against Kathy Hochul's conservative pick to be New York's top judge.
