Free Republic

TRENTON, Nov. 6 — In a stunning defeat for Gov. Jon S. Corzine, New Jersey voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have permitted the state to borrow $450 million for stem cell research. The sound defeat, coupled with the failure of another initiative that would have set aside more money for property tax rebates, marked the first time in 17 years that voters in New Jersey had defeated any statewide ballot question. The ballot questions offered a rare surprise on a day in which Democrats maintained their control over both houses in the State Legislature. As of...

On November 6, the taxpayers of New Jersey will again be asked to pony up--this time $450 million to fund every abortionists' favorite white elephant, Embryonic Stem Cell research. As most FReepers already know, Embryonic Stem Cell research involves the willful creation and destruction of viable human embryos for therapeutic techniques that, to date, have resulted in NO cures. And of course, the NJ bill does not fund Adult or Cord Stem Cell research, a much more promising and less ethically troubling experimental treatment modality which to date has yielded 73 successful therapeutic uses. Here in NJ, we're working to...

Catholic group to campaign for study of adult stem cells

For most religious people, the use of stem cells hinges on a philosophical question: When does a cell become human? The answer often is - at the moment of conception, when egg and sperm meet. Mormons, however, have a slightly different understanding of the connection between bodies and souls that could open the door for stem-cell research without compromising their ethics, said Rick Jepson on Thursday at the annual Sunstone Symposium, an independent forum for Mormon thought that continues today at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. Jepson, an LDS registered nurse who works with kidney patients, began...

Resolution calls for laws to protect rights of conscience for medical personnel.Delegates to the 125th annual convention of the Knights of Columbus Thursday, Aug. 9, unanimously adopted a resolution on Building a Culture of Life reaffirming its “deep commitment to oppose any governmental action or policy that promotes abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, euthanasia, assisted suicide and other offenses against life.”The resolution, adopted during the final session of the convention at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, also called for “the adoption of laws that recognize and protect in law the right of conscience for doctors, nurses,...

Missouri is Ground Zero for Stem-Cell Research by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor Pro-cloning efforts could be stalled in the state. Last year, Missourians narrowly voted to amend the state constitution to give researchers a blank check — using taxpayer dollars — to conduct destructive embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning experiments. "The deceptively worded amendment was designed to trick Missourians into enshrining a right to human cloning — often called somatic cell nuclear transfer — into the state constitution," said Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action.Now media reports claim the movement has stalled. Stowers Institute...

As I write this, this is breaking news. A study that appeared to have important implications for embryonic stem cell research was retracted from the journal Science after scientists found that photos in it had been faked. The headline in Live Mint reads: “Photos found to be fake, Science retracts embryonic cell study.” Not only is this shameful for any scientist, but in this case, it turns out that he is an Indian. This is not yet reported by Reuters, AP, or any other news agency.Live Mint requires a (free) registration, so I’m reproducing (edited) content here: A probe by...

The debate over embryonic stem cell research continues to escalate in our country, and remains a topic of significant public interest. Because of this growing public interest, I am often invited to participate in public debates on stem cell research and cloning. My sparring partners are usually other scientists, politicians, or public policy experts. The debates are typically held at universities or colleges, and audiences generally have the opportunity to ask questions of both sides afterwards.  Having participated in a number of these debates over the past few years, I've been surprised by how often certain arguments are trotted out...

London, England (LifeNews.com) -- British scientists hope to use embryonic stem cells to cure blind patients age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among elderly people. However, other doctors have already used adult stem cell research to treat blind patients and their conditions have vastly improved. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells within the eye play a vital role in the survival and maintenance of the rods and cones that detect light and color. Death of RPE cells may lead to the condition known as AMD. The British researchers hope to develop the embryonic stem cells, which can only...

Cardinal Rigali Slams Bills on Stem Cell Use WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- U.S. bishops are urging Congress to reject legislation that would promote the destruction of human embryos.Two bills, S.5 on embryonic stem cell research and H.R. 2560 on human cloning, are set for debate and vote.Regarding the stem cell bill, Cardinal Justin Rigali encouraged representatives "to reject this misguided and unethical legislation, which would force taxpayers for the first time to encourage deliberate attacks on innocent human life in the name of medical progress."Cardinal Rigali, the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities, mentioned only...

 These men and women were willing to take a risk.When the U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to lift the president's restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research, it failed to reach the number of votes necessary to overturn a promised Bush veto. That’s because 34 Senators resisted a bipartisan tide and said “No” to the destruction of preborn humans. Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for Focus on the Family Action, said pro-life senators who stood their ground will be criticized in some circles because of it.   “Some of these senators have watched as the composition of the Senate has shifted away...

The U.S. Congress is again working on a bill to pay for more research on stem cells. That is, stem cells from human embryos. Some critics doubt that research needs more funding or fewer restrictions. Embryonic stem cells still have no proven human benefits. Could embryonic stem cells be the cure for your mom's Alzheimer's disease, your sister's diabetes or your uncle's Parkinson's disease? Many people think so. Nigel Cameron, an expert on emerging medical technologies, said, "They have the idea that stem cells are miracle cures and if only we were able to work on them, we would cure...

Embryonic and adult stem cells offer similar protection against neurodegenerative disease, according to a landmark study in mice which has achieved a number of firsts with human stem cells. For the first time, rodents genetically predisposed to disease lived longer and healthier lives after receiving injections of the human cells, researchers claim. “We have been talking about stem cells for a decade and no one had cured anything with stem cells before this,” comments Eva Mezey, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, US, who was not involved in the work. In the new study, Evan...

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) – The executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference urged the state Legislature Feb. 28 to ban any form of "taxpayer-financed human cloning" and to reject Gov. Eliot Spitzer's $2.1 billion Stem Cell and Innovation Fund as proposed, with its major emphasis on funding research on human embryonic stem cells."The governor's stem-cell research proposal is devoid of any moral consideration whatsoever for the living human embryos who will be subject to experimentation and destruction," said Richard E. Barnes, executive director of the conference, which is the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops. He...

California supporters of stem cell research are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday, the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco rejected a lawsuit that has been delaying full operations at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Although the case could still make its way to the state supreme court, CIRM proponents are confident the institute has overcome is last major legal hurdle. The creation of CIRM was approved by voters in November 2004 as a way to get around federally imposed limits on research with human embryonic stem (ES) cells (ScienceNOW, 6 October...

"Religious Right Cited False Report to Combat Embryonic Stem Cell Legislation." So reads the lede of a thread (an Internet posting followed by commentaries) of a group called "DEFCON: Campaign to Defend the Constitution." Translation: DEFCON hates the religious right and anything the religious right likes. If the religious right liked ice cream, DEFCON would hate it. So DEFCON hates alternatives to embryonic stem cells no matter how valuable those alternatives are in treating and curing human disease.  In this case, if anybody took DEFCON seriously it could be sued for libel. The paper in question, presented by Catherine Verfaillie...

Embryonic stem cell research is fundamentally wrong because it destroys human beings who deserve moral respect, Princeton University professor Robert P. George said recently in the Norton Lectures at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. George argued during the February lecture that embryonic stem cells may not be the cure-all that research advocates are proclaiming them to be. “The fact that there’s been a lot of hyping going on and that embryonic stem cells probably will not prove to be the therapeutic miracle that they have been hyped to be isn’t fundamentally the reason we should be opposed to the use of...

Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin have found what may be another alternative to embryonic stem cells. They have found that adult stem cells from hair follicles, which don't involve the destruction of human life to obtain, are different from other types of skin cells. The researchers recently identified the molecular signature of hair follicle stem cells called epidermal neural crest stem cells. The college says the study resolves conflicting scientific opinions by showing that these cells are distinctly different from other types of skin-resident stem cells. The MCW research team has reported their findings...

More than two years after it was approved by voters, California's $3 billion stem-cell research institute Friday announced its first stem-cell research grants. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded 72 two-year grants totaling about $45 million to scientists at 20 university and other non-profit research institutions throughout the state. Bay Area researchers garnered 27 of the grants. Stanford University received the most of any institution, winning 12 grants totaling $7.6 million. The University of California-San Francisco received eight grants; the J. David Gladstone Institute in San Francisco won three; the University of California-Santa Cruz won two; and the University...

Another source of useful stem cells has been found – and the media and the cloning crowd are trying keep it quiet. While the Democratic-controlled House voted 253-174 to expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, it fell far short of the 290 votes needed to override a virtually guaranteed presidential veto. A tragedy for victims of everything from Alzheimer's to warts? Not at all. Each year there are stunning breakthroughs with adult stem cells, and 2007 has already brought its first. Adult stem cells cure and treat more 70 diseases and are involved in almost 1,300 human clinical trials....