I would love for all opponents of embryonic stem cell research ( only 30% of the american population) to read an extremely insightful Op/Ed from which I have excerpted the following:

"Like President Bush, I am a Christian graduate of Harvard Business School. That means we each have studied religion and pragmatism, the two poles of the national debate on stem-cell research. Apparently unable to reconcile these two, Bush last year vetoed a bill easing restrictions on federal funding for stem-cell research. The same bill will cross his desk again soon, having recently passed in the House and expected to pass in the Senate. Though Democrats still do not have enough votes to override a veto, I believe that the president can find a way to sign the legislation in good conscience." 

(Read on …)

How many hours do we have to live, and what will we do with the rest of our lives?  For Jerry Yang, SCNT scientist at the University of Connecticut, this is no idle question.

Born to extreme poverty in rural China in the midst of a famine, Xiangchong (say it like zhahng-chung) Yang was not expected to live. His aunt looked at the skeletal body and asked if he was still alive.

The immediate crisis passed; the aching void of poverty and hunger remained. 

Suddenly, an unexpected chance. In 1977, a national college test was announced—400 new students (from the entire country) would be given scholarships to Beijing University.

With only 28 days to prepare, the boy borrowed every book in the village and studied night and day.

(Read on …)

Can you remember the joy in January of 2004, that New Jerseyans and Stem Cell Research activists across the US felt, when they became the second state in the nation to pass a Stem Cell Research bill for the specific purpose of funding embryonic stem cell research,….. the type of stem cell research which was prohibited from NIH funding? I vividly remember it was such a proud day for Christopher Reeve, a New Jerseyan  himself, as he was flanked by High School senior Carl Riccio, who was paralyzed in a wrestling accident in February, 2003. Riccio, 17, at that time said he "believes stem cell research holds the potential for him to walk again."

While I am happy to note that California’s CIRM a few weeks ago came through with their first $45 million funding of embryonic stem cell research after passing prop 71 in November of 2004, it turns out New Jersey in December, 2005 had the bulk of their $5 million stem cell bill funding going to Adult stem cell research and mouse ESC, which already is heavily funded by the NIH! Why is even the state of New Jersey largely neglecting the funding of human embryonic stem cell research out of a bill intended specifically for ESCR?

(Read on …)

Don’t be complicit in the unneccessay deaths of paralyzed babies.

Dr. Kerr is close to being able to help the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) babies with embryonic stem cell treatments.

All he needs is to be allowed the use of federal funding for pre-clinical research on 10 newer ESC lines, created after 2001. Read the article:
http://biology.plosjournals.org/perl…l.pbio.0050032

With this knowledge in hand it would seem that those, who still choose to remain silent about ESCR when speaking with their anti-ESCR legislators about cures for paralysis, will be complicit in the unnecessary deaths of these babies.
(Read on …)