Angsuman Chakraborty05 Oct 2006 08:37 am
First time since the stem cell debate began, voters are being asked to weigh job creation and potential life-saving cures against moral concerns over the destruction of human embryos in an impassioned battle over a Missouri ballot measure supporting the science.
The controversial science, which has rocked Congress, the Bush administration and state capitols for the past five years, is considered a wedge issue that could drive voters to the polls and divide the Republican electorate.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans approve of embryonic stem cell research, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Supporters include high-profile Republicans, such as Nancy Reagan, with loved ones who have suffered from debilitating diseases for which the research offers hopes of a cure.
Scientists are eager to experiment with stem cells from human embryos because the cells have the capacity to develop into any organ tissue in the body. Non-controversial adult stem cell research also is being pursued, but scientists say adult cells do not hold the same potential for cures and therapies.
If approved, the amendment would unshackle local scientists and could attract other researchers to the state, which is home to stem-cell innovator Washington University.
However while science is colliding with religion over stem cell research, six states have ensured the legality of the science and committed state money to fill the gap left by the federal government’s funding restrictions. So far, California has committed $3 billion for the research; Connecticut has committed $20 million; Illinois, $15 million; New Jersey, $5.5 million; Maryland, $15 million; and Massachusetts, $15 million.
Link
Filed under Stem Cell | Comment Below
Related?
Future of Embryonic Stem Cell Research in the State Depends on VotersSeptember 16th, 2006 In November, Missouri voters will decide the future of embryonic stem cell research in the state. Until then, both sides of the debate are making their case in TV commercials.
Missouri Voters Strongly Support SCNT Stem Cell ResearchFebruary 14th, 2005 Way to go Missouri! Your consciousness should be the beacon light for the rest of the country. Lets all join the effort to free the world of diabetes and other genetic diseases.
Study shows greater need to educate public about stem cell research.October 21st, 2008 Latest news reveals that Michigan government has now decided to use ballot measure to determine the fate of state law that currently restricts embryonic stem cell research. But the question arises- Are the voters prepared to make such an educational decision about this complex, fast-emerging new field of medicine?
Recently two study done by the University of Michigan C.S Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, and U-M Institute for Social Researchhas has answered this important question.
Kansans Overwhelmingly Support All Types of Stem Cell ResearchJanuary 8th, 2006 A recent poll of 800 Kansas voters
conducted by renowned Republican pollster Fred Steeper found that Kansas
voters overwhelmingly support allowing all types of stem cell research and
treatments in Kansas and oppose any state-level bans on stem cell research or
treatments allowed under federal law. By a margin of more than two-to-one,
Kansas voters said they support allowing both adult and early, or embryonic,
stem cell research in the state and oppose a proposed law that would impose a
state ban on the type of stem cell research called Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer (SCNT).
Can Michigan end year old ban on stem cell research?November 3rd, 2008 Michigan is likely to have a good time ahead in stem cell research. The seven year ban on the federal funding of further embryonic stem-cell experiments, the issue has moved onto state ballot proposals for financing and expanding this research.On Tuesday, Michigan voters -- split down the middle, according to polls -- will decide on Proposition 2, which would void a 30-year state ban on the destruction of human embryos for medical research.
Living Proof of Cord Blood TransplantJuly 21st, 2005 The picture of health, Tony Wagner plays soccer, hockey and golf and is, in the words of his father, "just as obnoxious as a 12-year-old boy can be."
And he scarcely remembers anything from his life-threatening bout with leukemia seven years ago, and nothing at all from his life-saving transplant of hematopoietic progenitor cells, derived from the blood found in umbilical cords. "He's living proof cord blood transplants save people's lives," said dad Mike Wagner of Chili.
UK launched its new cord blood bankSeptember 27th, 2008 United Kingdom has launched a new cord blood bank at King's College Hospital, which for the first time consists of a combine storage of potential cord blood transplants and a research institute. It is also the first Trust collection center which receives donated cord blood from the mothers who give birth to a child.
Eva Winston thanks Umbilical cord blood cells for saving her lifeSeptember 27th, 2008 Umbilical cord blood cells has again saved a life. This time the survivor is Eva Winston-Hart, 4 years.
Leave a Comment
