Mich. Voters Divided On Ballot Initiative To Allow Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Abortion
Article Date: 04 Nov 2008 - 5:00 PST

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Voters in Michigan have been "courted furiously" by advocates on both sides of the debate over Proposition 2, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to allow embryos created for fertility treatments that otherwise would be discarded to be used for stem cell research, the Wall Street Journal reports. The proposed amendment pits the state's public and private biological research centers against conservative Catholic and evangelical groups who oppose the research, the Journal reports (Sataline, Wall Street Journal, 10/31). A Detroit News/WXYZ-Action News poll taken Oct. 26-28 found that Michigan voters remained effectively split on the measure and that undecided voters likely would determine the outcome of Tuesday's election. The poll, which has a four-point margin of error, showed that 44% of voters were against the proposal, 46% were in favor of it and 10% were undecided.

Supporters and opponents of Prop. 2 have spent more than $14.5 million on the campaigns, making it the third most expensive ballot measure in Michigan history, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (Cain/Hornbeck, Detroit News, 10/31). Opponents of the proposal -- grouped as Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation -- have raised more than $7 million in contributions, with $5 million coming from the church lobby group Michigan Catholic Conference, the Journal reports. According to the Journal, "[W]hat makes the issue so difficult is that both sides argue they are saving lives," said Leonard Fleck, a medical ethicist at Michigan State University who supports the amendment, "I'd call it a religious-ethical friction." He added, "It's obviously related to the abortion issue. What gives it a different moral coloring, what we'd hope to accomplish with the embryonic stem cells, is the saving of human life." Opponents "equate destroying fertilized eggs with murder" and "accuse the proponents of playing with people's emotions" by suggesting that embryonic stem cell research will lead to dramatic cures. Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said, "There's been a great deal of hype about embryonic stem cells that has distracted people and diverted resources from the things that actually help people," such as adult stem cell therapies.

According to the Journal, embryonic stem cell research is legal in Michigan, but new stem cell lines cannot be created within the state under a 1978 law that banned the destruction of embryos for research purposes. Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Stem Cell Biology, said that because Michigan researchers cannot use any of the nearly 400,000 frozen embryos in the U.S -- many of which will be discarded -- they must obtain stem cell lines extracted in other states and countries, which slows research. Morrison said none of the existing stem cell lines approved by President Bush in 2001 -- when he banned federal funding for research on lines created after that date -- carry the genetic defects some Michigan researchers would like to study.

According to the Journal, some of the "most heated" arguments over Prop. 2 concern a passage that would "prohibit state and local laws that prevent, restrict or discourage stem cell research, future therapies and cures." Opponents of the proposal, including state Sen. Tom George (R), argue that the passage could prevent the state from licensing future stem cell clinics while allowing unethical experiments to flourish. "It would be foolish to tie the hands of the state when we don't know what the industry will become," George said. However, Morrison said existing laws governing patient safety and scientific practice would prevent unethical research (Wall Street Journal, 10/31).

Broadcast Coverage on State Ballot Initiatives

NPR's "Fresh Air" on Thursday included a discussion with former Washington Post reporter Cynthia Gorney about abortion-related issues in the current election, including state ballot initiatives and Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin's (Alaska) stance on abortion rights (Davies, "Fresh Air from WHYY," NPR, 10/30).

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