Voters OK embryonic stem cell research

By LYNN VINCENT

Dazzled by Hollywood star power and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political muscle, Californians on Nov. 2 approved taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research. With 86 percent of precincts reporting on Nov. 3, 59 percent of voters said yes to Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond measure that will cost tax-stressed Golden State residents another $3 billion in interest over 30 years.

Embryonic stem cells are so-called “master cells” that differentiate into 210 different kinds of human tissue. Though adult stem cell research has already yielded therapeutic success, some researchers believe embryonic stem cells will produce cures for diabetes, Parkinson’s, and other debilitating and fatal illnesses.

During the campaign, California television viewers in October weathered saturation advertising featuring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Reeve, and children afflicted with diseases, all of whom expressed hope that stem cell research would cure them. “There was a lot of emotionalism tied to this issue,” said California Family Council director Karen Holgate. “People who voted for 71 wanted to do something to help people. But they didn’t understand they were voting for clone-and-kill legislation.”

Though Prop 71 authors didn’t use the word “cloning” in the initiative, the measure does fund the cloning - and destruction - of human embryos. Christian Medical Association president David Stevens noted that its passage marks the first time in medical history that doctors have been publicly authorized and funded to destroy human beings in the name of scientific research. “Prop 71 had turned human beings into commodities, valuable scientific material, and that’s a very dangerous step,” Stevens said. “Science has always gotten into trouble when it’s adopted a utilitarian ethic - that a little bit of ‘bad’ is okay as long as it’s for the ‘greater good.’”

Stevens pointed out that Proposition 71 does not limit experimentation on human embryos to any developmental age, but only stipulates that the embryo cannot be “born.” “That leaves the door open for experimentation on fetuses up to the point of delivery,” he said-a step not even the UN or more “progressive” European nations have approved. Prop 71 supporters scoff at that notion as the Chicken-Little ravings of pro-life conservatives. But Stevens notes that current science already shows that the easiest way to obtain specific types of tissue with disease-curing potential is to “let the embryo develop until you’ve got the type of cell you want.” He fears that kind of research will lead beyond Petri-dish cellular research to growing human fetuses and then harvesting their tissue. Californians have “now authorized human sacrifice,” he said, “this time to prolong our own lives.”

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This article originally appeared in World magazine and is published through E.P. News with permission.