Posted on 07/31/2005 5:12:27 PM PDT by wagglebee
In New Jersey, which bills itself as the medicine cabinet of the nation, the potentially lucrative stem cell research race has gone off with both a bang and a whimper.
Just 14 months ago, James E. McGreevey, then the governor, signed a bill to establish the nation's first state-supported stem research institute, proclaiming, over the objections of Roman Catholic bishops, that the frontiers of medical science should not be hemmed in by politics. Earlier in the year, New Jersey had become the second state in the nation, after California, to pass a law specifically legalizing embryonic stem cell research.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey continued the efforts with enthusiasm, proposing that the state dedicate almost $400 million for stem cell science. But progress has been fitful at best, partly because of garden variety Garden State inertia and partly because of growing fears of a conservative backlash.
And so the groundbreaking for the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Institute, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed. The land at Rutgers University where the institute was supposed to rise remains a parking lot. The money to build the center is not yet available; the State Assembly failed to pass a bill in June to provide the $150 million for the institute, and the Legislature is not likely to revisit the issue until the end of the year, at the earliest.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yet they have not published any results, which leads me to believe it's because there won't be any. Yet the left (and now the RINOs in the Senate) want to pour more money into this and further the pro-death agenda.
I have said this many times before, but it bears repeating. Bio-tech companies spend billions on R&D every year, and this includes a lot of money in adult stem cell and cord cell research. Yet they spend almost nothing on embryonic stem cell research. Logic dictates that if the companies that stand to benefit the most from embryonic stem cells aren't willing to invest in it, then it is stupid for the government to pour our tax money into it. For that matter, Bill Frist is a multi-millionaire (at least $20 million) physician, why doesn't he invest some of his own money before he wastes ours?
Isn't Corine planning on being the new Governor?
He is supposedly worth a bunch of $$$$$$$, maybe he should put some of his own money where his mouth is...
That's the same thing I said about RINO Frist, he's got at least $20 million and a medical background.
Wonder if any of those federal funds would go to friends and family in the hospital's research lab???
IIRC, Frist got pretty lucky in escaping a criminal probe of his family's hospital chain a few years back.
Great point.
Here's a prediction: when embryonic stem cells fades out, the pro-death lobby will go for plan B: a major research university will announce that each aborted fetus can be converted into 10,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline.
The New York Times will go wild.
(steely)
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of disrupting future negotiations, said some legislators were wary of asking the public to support more bond issues, while some feared opposition from Roman Catholic bishops in the state, two of whom had criticized Mr. McGreevey for his position on the research. Other legislators wanted to see even more money devoted to the cause.
"I am frankly disappointed that we haven't marshaled the political capital and will to push further in providing the resources that will allow us to move off of conversations and talk, to actual research," said United States Senator Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat who is running for governor. He added, "I think time lost here can have a major impact on our ability to get the best talent."
His opponent, Douglas R. Forrester, does not support state financing for stem cell research, because of New Jersey's precarious financial condition, said his campaign director, Sherry Sylvester.
Pro-life bump-with some scapple:)
Acccording to this article, New Jersey also allows cloning.
There is no federal ban on cloning or stem cell research. The House passed two bills prohibiting cloning research but both died in the Senate. President Bush authorized the first federal funding of stem cell research in 2001. The funding is limited to a set number of established cell lines. The established stem cell lines are cultures of cells from embryos that have already been destroyed. Some states permit the research and some states prohibit it.
For example, California and New Jersey permit embryonic stem cell research, including research on CLONED (emphasis mine) embryos, while South Dakota has the most restrictive laws on the book, prohibiting any research on embryos of any kind. Iowa and Michigan also have bans prohibiting both therapeutic and reproductive cloning.
snippet http://www.acfnewsource.org/democra...ng_cloning.html
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