The news spreads!
Merck Attempts to Hide Investment Facts, Says Group
U.S. Newswire
27 Mar 17:38
Merck Attempts to Hide Important Investment Facts From Shareholder
Proxy Vote, Says Children of God for Life
To: National Desk
Contact: Debi Vinnedge of Children of God for Life
727-538-5558 or
debi@cogforlife.org WASHINGTON, March 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "It is clear from their
actions, that Merck does not want their stockholders to know the
truth about how they conduct their business," said Fr. Thomas
Euteneuer, president of Human Life International (HLI), a Merck &
Co. stockholder. "If this is 'ordinary business' as Merck claims,
then they wouldn't have petitioned the Securities and Exchange
Commission for permission to remove the indicting language from our
stockholder proposal."
Working with Children of God for Life and Pro Vita Advisors, HLI
drafted Stockholder Proposal No. 7 which made clear -- despite
claims of employing, "the highest standards of ethics and
integrity," in its business practices -- that Merck & Co. continues
to use aborted fetal cell lines in the creation of certain
vaccines. The original resolution sought to educate investors to
potential business and financial repercussions related to the
continued use of these cell lines. Merck sought to hide from
investors that:
-- Merck faces an organized boycott of all Merck products
because aborted fetal cell lines are used in vaccines;
-- The Catholic Medical Association (CMA) passed a resolution to
use alternatives to Merck's and other drug companies vaccines that
are cultivated from aborted fetal cell lines;
-- Pro Vita Advisors, an investment counseling organization,
advises investors to divest their Merck stock because of its
continued use of aborted fetal cell lines
In a five-page letter, Merck originally pleaded with the SEC to
keep the entire resolution off the company's proxy vote, but failed
at that effort. Merck did succeed, however, in convincing the SEC
to remove the language that would have informed voters of these
potential risks. Merck has refused to acknowledge that they profit
from the destruction of human life despite the fact that $34.6
million of their $7.2 billion net income for 2002 was from viral
vaccine sales.
Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God for Life,
stated, "We believe stockholders have a right to know these types
of details about a company in which they are investing. If that
company is subject to boycotts, investment warnings and resolutions
like the one from the CMA, it could suffer a severe loss in sales
and devaluation in stock."
Merck Proxy:
http://www.merck.com/finance/proxy/pr2003/proposal_4.html To read more on the aborted fetal tissue vaccines visit:
http://www.cogforlife.org http://www.usnewswire.com -0-
/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
03/27 17:38
Copyright 2003, U.S. Newswire
AND SPREADS SOME MORE!!
Merck & Co. Criticized for Using Aborted Fetal Tissue in Vaccines
3/28/03
Clearwater, FL — Pro-life organizations, Children of God for Life and Human Life International charged today that pharmaceutical giant, Merck & Co. has betrayed their stockholders by refusing to include language in Shareholder Proposal No. 7. that would have revealed:
• An organized boycott of all Merck products
• A resolution by the Catholic Medical Association to use alternatives to their vaccines cultivated on aborted fetal tissue and
• Instruction by investment counseling organization, Pro Vita Advisors, that investors divest their Merck stock.
By using aborted fetal cell lines in vaccine production, Human Life International, President Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, who purchased sufficient shares of Merck stock demanded fellow shareholders be informed that Merck has violated its own Statement on Values, which states in part, "We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity".
In a 5-page letter to the SEC, Merck pleaded their case to keep the entire resolution from becoming public, stating that the use of aborted fetal cell lines falls under ordinary business and therefore should be excluded from the proxy vote. In addition, Merck refused to acknowledge that they were profiting from the destruction of human life, stating there was no financial evidence to prove it. Merck's net income for 2002 was $7,149.5 million, with $34.6 million in viral vaccine sales.
While the SEC agreed to allow the information to be included in this year’s annual meeting, Merck's attorneys were able to successfully remove most of the critical language.
What they have done is deny their stockholders the right to vote on the true language of the resolution, stated Children of God for Life's Executive Director Debi Vinnedge, who has organized the boycott and the Campaign for Ethical Vaccines with over 475,000 signatures.
Rev Euteneuer agreed. Watch for your proxy cards in the mail and if their practice of using aborted fetal cell lines offends you, vote in favor of Resolution 7, to appoint a special committee linking executive compensation with the Company's ethical performance.
"What went in and what came out of that resolution are quite different", said Vinnedge. "While we are pleased that the SEC agreed to provide stockholders with the information that aborted fetal cell lines are used in Merck's vaccines, we also believe they should be aware of boycotts, investment warnings and the resolution by the Catholic Medical Association to use alternatives. In effect, such actions by several organizations and parents to boycott all Merck products and use alternatives may eventually decrease their sales numbers and devalue the stock".
To review the Merck Proxy statement being mailed to shareholders for consideration at the upcoming meeting, go to: Stockholder Proposal Concerning Ethical and Social Performance of the Company
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email
infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)