New York, NY, August 4, 2005 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was extremely disturbed by Dr. James C. Dobson's comments in a Focus on the Family radio broadcast this week comparing embryonic stem-cell research to the medical experiments carried out by Nazi doctors during the Holocaust.

"There is no legitimate comparison between stem-cell research, which seeks to find a cure for disease and to counter human suffering, and the perversion of science and morality represented by the actions of Nazi doctors who deliberately tortured their victims in medical 'experiments,'" said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "While reasonable, decent people may legitimately differ in their views of embryonic cell research, it is a gross distortion – and an offensive misuse of the Holocaust – to compare stem-cell research to the hideous barbarities of Nazi pseudo-science."

In a letter to Dr. Dobson, the League called on the Focus on the Family chairman to immediately repudiate his remarks and apologize to those offended by his statements in the August 3rd radio program. The letter noted that Dr. Dobson's suggestion that the Nazi experiments could have resulted in "discoveries … that benefited mankind" was "especially odious."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.