Stem Cell Debate Rages in U.S.

MICHIGAN - Michigan Voters will decide fate of stem cell research since CureMichigan submitted what leaders said were 570,373 signatures to the Secretary of State on Monday afternoon, far exceeding the 380,126 needed to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot [which would end the state's ban on stem cell research]. Larry Owen, chairman of the Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee Board, said nearly $2 million was spent collecting the signatures, and more will be needed to run the fall campaign. Read More!

TEXAS - Stem cell research scientific, not moral...an embryo is not required for their harvest and thus does not pose a problem for those against abortion. Anti-abortion commentator Ann Coulter stated in her book "Godless," "Although there has been research on both adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells since the '50s, only adult stem-cell research has produced any cures - and lots of 'em - by contrast, the embryonic stem-cell researchers have produced nothing." Read More!

OHIO - EDITORIAL: Say no to embryonic stem cell researchTo date, there have not been any human beings that have benefited from embryonic stem cells. No diseases have been cured; no rapid turnarounds have manifested with these cells. On the other hand, adult stem cells have been successfully used to treat spinal cord injuries, leukemia, Parkinson's disease and blood disorders. There is proof of their power that did not come at the cost of a human life or exploitation of reproductive rights. Read More!

NEW JERSEY - Stem cells: Stuck in New Jersey: Scientists and politicians in New Jersey thought that they had a chance to make their state a stem-cell player. Voters thought otherwise. As proponents prepare for a second attempt, Meredith Wadman investigates what went wrong in the Garden State. Read More!

MISSOURI - The hard-fought 2006 Missouri election over stem-cell research settled little. Opponents of the use of embryos and cloning techniques continue to attack the measure, known as Amendment 2. The latest effort includes an initiative they hope to get on the November ballot. Supporters of the research remain vigilant, raising large sums to protect Amendment 2...Read More!

WASHINGTON D.C. - Standing in the Way of Stem Cell Research? A new way to trick skin cells into acting like embryos changes both everything and nothing at all. Being able to reprogram skin cells into multipurpose stem cells without harming embryos launches an exciting new line of research. It's important to remember, though, that we're at square one, uncertain at this early stage whether souped-up skin cells hold the same promise as their embryonic cousins do. Read More!

KANSAS - Edirorial: Repeal of stem-cell amendment would stifle hope. Amid all the debate about stem cells, one word rings clearer than all others: Hope. As someone who has seen firsthand the devastating effect that Parkinson’s disease can have on a family, I breathed a sigh of relief after voters passed the stem-cell amendment. I have Parkinson’s disease. After months of debate, inundating mailboxes with voter information, public forums, local, regional and national coverage, scientific evidence and religious discussion, the issue was settled. Read More!

VIRGINIA - Recently Bush vetoed federal monies for Embryonic Stem Cell Research(ESCR). From the response, one would believe that he dumped all hopes for curing diseases down the commode.First, there was no ‘ban’ of ESCR, just a veto of using taxpayer funds for ESCR. Private organizations can, and are, utilizing fertilized embryos to attempt to combat certain diseases.Second, ESCs show a disturbing tendency to turn into tumors...Read More!

GEORGIA - Stem cell debate distorted by big media, speaker argues. Those who are living with debilitating diseases and injuries are desperately seeking cures. Embryonic stem cell research could provide the cures they are searching for, many scientists, physicians and politicians say. Josh Brahm says there is a better, and more morally and ethically sound, solution: adult stem cell research. Read More!

SOUTH DAKOTA - "There are good-thinking people with good motives on both sides who just see the issue differently," Thune said. "But it does come down to your basic core convictions about the life issue and whether or not for medical research we ought to get into this practice of destroying embryos to harvest the stem cells." Read More!

OKLAHOMA - State Rep. John Enns, R-Enid, has filed a resolution to support the Legislature’s stance against the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research, using his own spinal chord injury to give him insight. He thinks using non-embryonic cells will do more good. Read More!

OREGON - I recently testified before the Oregon House Ways and Means subcommittee on health-care access in support of House Bill 2801. This bill supports stem-cell research in Oregon. During the committee meeting it was apparent that some citizens and legislators are understandably confused about the benefits of research with different types of stem cells. Read More!

FLORIDA - Do not begrudge the president his strongly held views opposing embryonic-stem-cell research. His concern for the most vulnerable among us is obviously a central element in his ethics.However, as public policy, opposing embryonic-stem-cell research is a disaster. Read More!

PENNSYLVANIA - Sen. Bob Casey's statement to the Associated Press last week says it all. His decision to reject the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act is based on his personal views, not the views of his Pennsylvania constituents. His ''no'' vote rejects all the data from objective literature and research from multiple polls. Read More!

Stem cell research scientific, not moral

MONTANA - Science Director of Cord Blood Registry in Tucson, spoke about the almost miraculous advances in treatments that have been made with cord blood and other non-embryonic stem cells,Yet immediately following his remarks, a professor from ASU spoke about how the National Institute for Health still maintains that embryonic stem cell research shows more promise, despite the fact that not one human has had a successful treatment with these cells. Read More!

CALIFORNIA - Embryonic stem cell science is picking up steam, making moral questions about how to do the research and who gets the benefits an urgent matter. That's the message speakers delivered Friday at a conference in La Jolla on the ethics of stem cell research. Read More!

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Bush Stem Cell Limits Should Be Eased, NIH Chief Says: Elias Zerhouni, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said ending the Bush administration's restrictions on the use of human embryonic stem cells would benefit medical research in the U.S. ``The current lines will not be sufficient,'' Read More!

ARKANSAS - Stem cell research is growing, but its potentially astounding results are being tempered by heated debate, Dr. Bob Gregerson told the Batesville Rotary Club Monday. However, religious and spiritual concerns about how stem cells (especially embryonic) are harvested and how these cells could potentially be used has sparked debate and led to changes in national policy. Read More!

DELAWARE -  Imagine my skepticism when a liberal woman invited me, an outspoken conservative, to a private briefing on embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) and cloning. "I am not anti-abortion," the speaker proclaimed. "I am an advocate for women's reproductive health, which is why I oppose current legislation on embryonic stem cell research!"These women, part of a group called Hands Off Our Ovaries, oppose deceptive legislation like Delaware's Senate Bill 5 (SB-5). They don't want the pro-life movement to hijack the debate. Read More!

NEW YORK - In this time of fiscal austerity, I think spending $100 million on embryonic stem cell research is a waste of money, as well as posing many difficult moral issues regarding experimentation with human embryos. It is important to understand that stem cell research is usually intended to mean either adult stem cell or embryonic stem cell research. Research with adult stem cell (from adults or umbilical cord blood) has been highly successful and poses no ethical issues. Read More!

ILLINOIS — The Illinois House voted Thursday to allow public financing of research that uses both adult stem cells and the controversial embryonic stem cells. The bipartisan initiative was led by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego. The bill does not allocate any money for the research, but establishes a review process by which public research grants would be given. The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate, where Cross said President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, has put it on a list of "fast-track" legislation. Read More!

IOWA - Iowans on both sides of the debate over stem cell research using human embryos spoke out during a public hearing at the statehouse last night. Gary Mechtensimer of Solon arrived in a wheelchair wearing a button that read "Help us find the cures.""I just wish that they could realize how many people they would help..."  Read More!

NEVADA - Ethics comes from the ancient Greek word "ethikos," meaning "to arise from habit." It is a branch of philosophy that studies values through the analysis of such concepts as right and wrong, good and evil and responsibility. This is a philosophy that many politicians in our country claim to pratice but few seem to grasp, particularly when it comes to stem cell research. Read More

WISCONSIN - Governor Jim Doyle is beating up his Republican challenger by blasting him, Rep. Mark Green (R-Green Bay), as an extremist who would dash the hopes of millions of families by squashing stem cell research funding. At the Wisconsin Democratic convention this summer, Doyle fired his opening salvo driving this public health and emerging-business (bio-tech) issue that has divided Republicans here...Read More!

KENTUCKY - Chris Frost, the Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives seat in southeast Lexington, said today he wants to get a constitutional amendment put on the 2008 ballot that would allow any stem-cell research permitted under federal law. Frost, a University of Kentucky law professor, said he favors stem cell research that also is safe and ethical and doesn't involve cloning of humans. Read More!

MINNESOTA — State Senate Candidate Mark Slavens (D-Canton) challenged his opponent today to sign the online petition launched to help increase stem cell research in Michigan. ...Read More!

COLORADO - Fr. Pacholczyk debunked what he described as the “ten media myths about stem cell research and cloning” that have been perpetuated about stem-cells and the Catholic Church. Fr. Pacholczyk, who holds a doctorate in Neuroscience from Yale University, explained that the Catholic Church only applauds that research which uses stem-cells procured from methods that do not violate human life. Read More!

A Brief Timeline of the Stem-Cell Debate

Sponsors

Dedicated to Improving Our Customers' Quality of Life!

Serving the State of New York