Religious nut.

Anti-scientist.

Zombie.

Hurl whatever name you please at pro-life Nebraskans. Just know it’s not likely to do much good.

They’re not going anywhere.

They made that clear Saturday when hundreds braved freezing temperatures and a couple of inches of fresh snow to take part in the annual Walk for Life sponsored by Nebraska Right to Life to fight legalized abortion.

Marchers — all ages, all sizes, dressed in all types of winter apparel — trekked eight chilly blocks from the state Capitol to the Nebraska Union, where, as usual, they sipped hot chocolate and listened to a panel discussion.

This year, though, the topic was not abortion, but embryonic stem-cell research, controversial research supporters say holds promise for treatment for such conditions as Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

Opponents say the research — which uses embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization — destroys human life.

And they are attacking the research, which takes place at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, with renewed fervor as public opinion sways in its favor and some lawmakers move to expand state and federal support for it.

Indeed, Saturday’s panel discussion was evidence that, more than three decades after Roe v. Wade —  and as the number of abortions performed in Nebraska continues to fall — the pro-life movement has shifted gears.

“Unethical research is the new Roe v. Wade,” Nebraska Right to Life Executive Director Julie Schmit-Albin said in an interview before Saturday’s walk.

“We are hoping to energize our movement, and this will provide a focus. We believe that when people understand (the research), they become passionate.”

The shift is not just local. Pro-life voters across the nation have been galvanized by a new constitutional amendment in Missouri that protects the research and by promises by a Democratic Congress to ease federal restrictions on it.

In Nebraska, political candidates can no longer nab the key Right to Life endorsement unless they oppose embryonic stem-cell research.

“There is a new momentum,” Schmit-Albin said. “We want people to understand the urgency.”

The key, Saturday’s panelists told the crowd of about 800: Those who conduct embryonic stem-cell research effectively dictate the direction of a human life — an act not within their rights.

“Only God can be the author of life,” said Greg Schleppenbach, director of pro-life activities for the Nebraska Catholic Conference and a board member of the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research.

“These are the new front lines in the pro-life movement … We need to dig deep,” Schleppenbach added to a standing ovation.

Echoed fellow panelist Chip Maxwell, the coalition’s executive director: “The stakes are very high here. We’re either going to go one way or the other in the way we treat human life.”

The panelists contended too little attention has been given to adult stem-cell research, which does not involve embryo destruction. Researchers already have had some success using adult stem cells to treat such conditions as spinal cord injuries.

Stem cells drawn from umbilical cord blood and from amniotic fluid may also have potential.

Embryonic stem-cell research, on the other hand, has resulted in no cures for human diseases, the panelists said.

“The science is actually on our side,” said Maxwell.

But some researchers believe embryonic stem cells, because they are younger and more flexible than adult stem cells, hold much more promise.

“You can quote me on this: The science is not on their side,” said David Crouse, UNMC’s associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and a stem cell researcher.

Treatments from adult stem-cell research trumpeted by the pro-life movement “are not accepted therapies,” said Crouse, who was not at Saturday’s event.

“It’s a lie. … Embryonic stem cells have tremendous potential.”

UNMC researchers only use already existing stem cell lines for embryonic stem-cell research, work that falls in line with regulations set forth by President George W. Bush in 2001.

And the NU Board of Regents has a long-standing policy that UNMC research must abide by federal guidelines. University policy also explicitly bans cloning.

But Schmit-Albin and others are convinced that without a legislative ban on embryonic stem-cell research, UNMC labs eventually will pursue cloning.

“They want completely unfettered research,” she said. “We believe that cloning is ultimately where they want to go.

“We will not give the university a pass.”

Responded Crouse: “I can’t predict what will happen 10 years from now, but I can tell you right now nobody is planning any cloning.”

He shot down calls for legislation banning the research, saying such a law would send a message that Nebraska is not a forward-thinking state.

“It would deter people from coming to Nebraska to work.”

With two days left for Nebraska lawmakers to introduce new bills, Schmit-Albin is confident her supporters, armed with information gained Saturday, are ready for a fight.

“We are motivated and we are prepared.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.