Yesterday, voters in Michigan narrowly passed Proposition 2, which amends the state constitution to expand the ability of researchers to create embryonic stem cells with human embryos from fertility clinics. The proposition stipulates that the embryos must have been scheduled to be discarded and are not more than 14 days old.
Proposition 2 passed by a slim margin of 52 percent to 48 percent.
The battle over the issue was often heated, with supporters from both sides of Proposition 2 campaigning heavily in the weeks before Michigan citizens voted on the issue. According to freep.com, both the Yes and No campaigns each spent some $5 million in the effort to garner the majority vote.
"This is a great night for the state of Michigan," said Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology when it became clear that Proposition 2 would pass. "Clearly the voters saw through the misinformation and fear that the opposition we’re spreading.
Critics of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research in the state, however, led by Michigan Right to Life and the Michigan Catholic Conference, argued that there is never any valid reason to destroy innocent human life. In a letter on the issue leading up to the vote, Michigan’s Catholic bishops wrote, “Embryonic stem cell research is intrinsically evil and morally unacceptable as it necessitates the willful destruction of the earliest stage of human life.”
Opponents also pointed out that ESC research has an poor track record, with no viable cures to date; attempts at ESC therapies have in the past consistently produced disturbing results, including tumors and immune system rejections.
Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have none of the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells, and have produced cures for spinal cord injuries, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases as well as having been used in cancer therapies. “This research, which does not involve the destruction of human embryos, must be supported in the public sphere as well as in the medical field, where professionals take an oath to ‘do no harm,’” the Michigan bishops wrote.
A disappointed Dave Doyle, spokesman for Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation (MiCAUSE), who hopes that legislators will review the passing of Proposition 2, fears that the legislation will lead to unregulated embryonic stem cell research.
"I think that legislative leaders .. need to take a look at this," he said, according to Mlive.com. "Proponents have said this will be highly regulated. We'll have to see. The constitutional amendment doesn't give us comfort that it will be regulated in Michigan."
Contact: Tim Waggoner
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: November 5, 2008
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