LAKEWOOD - Ask Tom Lorenc why he can't support the Nov. 6 ballot referendum earmarking $450 million for stem cell research and he responds with such rapid fire reason it takes your breath away.

"First and foremost, as a Catholic believer of life beginning at conception, I'm morally opposed to the use of embryonic cells," Lorenc said. "The use of embryonic cells is destruction of human life. No human life can be treated as expendable. That's my personal belief and my Catholic belief."

For Lorenc, a long-time member of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, there is a practical and very personal side to the argument as well. He knows that if the referendum passes, $400 million will be headed to embryonic research leaving only $50 million - a drop in the bucket, he says - for adult stem cell research.

He adamantly states that the adult stem cell research - which has produced 72 cures and treatments to date - is far more likely to hold a key to help for those, like himself, with profound spinal cord injuries.

Over the years, Lorenc has battled a brutal disability that has curtailed his ability to get around without the help of his wife, Joan, and his motorized wheelchair.

"I started having difficulty handling things and walking," he recalled. "I remember that I had a little demitasse cup and I couldn't pick it up. I was tripping over things."

Lorenc and his wife have four children and back then, he was very active in Scouting events. "I was a Scout leader and I would be on a hike and find I couldn't lift my feet to step over things on the trail."

Discovery of tumor

Early on, doctors said he might be suffering from stress or carpal tunnel syndrome. "But I finally went to a (neurologist) who discovered a tumor, a pinky length tumor. I was still walking around but spinal fluid was creeping up to my brain. If they hadn't found the tumor in 1989, and operated, I would be dead."

Following surgery and rehabilitation, Lorenc returned to work for NJ Transit though his ability to move around was limited. There, the strong advocate for accessible transportation was promoted to director of rail system development despite his disability.

"They said it was because of my zeal despite the problems and issues I was dealing with," he said.

But by 1992, his condition had worsened. "They don't know whether it is a residual tumor or scar tissue but I am a quadriplegic with a C-4 level spinal cord injury."

That translates to limited use of his hands and legs and because of this disability, many people just expect Lorenc, 61, would be a strong supporter of embryonic stem cells - the purported magic bullets of the new millennium. They are often surprised when they find just the opposite is true.

Extremely informed on the subject, the plain spoken Lorenc speaks out on the issue whenever an opportunity presents itself, always beginning with the same litany: embryonic stem cell research is morally, ethically and philosophically wrong.

Then he hones in on the practical side of the argument, making his case from the vast storehouse of knowledge he's amassed on the subject, to explain that any cure for any disease - if and when it comes - is decades down the road.

Personal mission to share knowledge

He's made it a personal mission to share this wealth of knowledge with people in the parish, in the community at large and at the meetings he regularly attends at the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the United Spinal Association.

To his chagrin, Lorenc, a retired Lt. Col in the Air Force Reserves, said both organizations are "totally captivated by embryonic stem cell research. I've been the lone voice at the meetings reminding them that the focus on embryonic stem cells is not only morally wrong but wasteful for veterans and the general population."

That reaction hasn't in any way stifled Lorenc's witness on what voting yes on the $450 million bonding referendum will mean for New Jersey residents.

A member of the Worship Council at St. Mary of the Lake Parish, actively involved in the Knights of Columbus, he's written a piece for Parish Perspective, the newsletter for the more than 4,000 families that belong to the Catholic community of St. Mary of the Lake in downtown Lakewood and Holy Family Church on County Line Road.

He calls and writes his state and federal representatives and brings the subject up regularly at the many community meetings he attends.

Lorenc's Pastor, Father Michael O'Connor, and Linda Richardson, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life/Respect Life, praise his pro-life advocacy.

"Tom is obviously a very devoted Catholic, a right faithful man and a very good one," Father O'Connor said. "He keeps up to date on all the issues and does what he does with the best interests of the Church at heart.

"His big issue is standing up for human life," said Father O'Connor who noted that Joan Lorenc is an active partner in this effort. "They feel life is a gift for all of us. He is a man of very high standards."

Richardson met Lorenc at the 2006 Legislative Dialogue Evening. The forum, attended by several hundred faithful and more than a dozen legislators from around the four counties of the diocese, was held at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Hamilton Square.

Stem cell research was one of the topics for the evening, Richardson recalled. "He wanted the legislators to see that a quadriplegic would not sacrifice an unborn child simply because it might lead to a cure," Richardson said. "I'm impressed by his pro-life fervor and his willingness to witness his beliefs."

Lorenc doesn't spend much time basking in such praise. He's far too busy bringing the word to the public square.

"As Catholics, we need to be informed. It's our responsibility to know about these issues in depth," he said. Catholics need to know, he said, that 20 years of research with embryonic cells have produced no positive results and have even harmed transplant subjects. "You can't herd them well," said Lorenc noting the proclivity of embryonic cells to grow out of control in ways that can eventually lead to tumors and other growths.

And, as far as he's concerned, the superstar hype surrounding what he calls "the ephemeral hope" of embryonic stem cell research is a dangerous distraction.

"The public is to some degree being deceived by the ephemeral hope of embryonic stem cells," he said. "Even though the proof is on the side of adult stem cell research, they haven't been shown the truth."

With the bond issue, he said, neither politicians nor pundits nor scientists nor superstars have made an effort to clarify the situation. "There's been no effort to tell the public the whole truth. They just listen to the sound bites and think they are voting for something good."

By and large, they ignore the advances that have come from using stem cells from amniotic fluid, cord blood and people's own adult stem cells, he said. "These have resulted in successful treatment for a range of illnesses whereas experiments with embryonic cells have been shown to cause harm."

Time is fleeting, Lorenc said, for him and many like him who could benefit from adult stem cell research. "I speak for many who are like me. There are so many who don't know the full package of information. They'll follow personalities and not look further for the truth.

"I'm not a personality, but I do represent a real population and I like to think I'm on the right side of this argument."