contact HOME DONATE MEDIA CENTER THE PROPOSAL THE SCIENCE NEWS Coalition

Bioethics council members say Prop 2 is misrepresented by supporters

Five prominent members of the President’s Council on Bioethics warn Michigan voters against Proposal 2. In a statement released Thursday, October 30, voters are told that passage would lead to unlimited and unregulated experimentation using human embryos.

Proposal 2 is just the beginning

Sue O’Shea, the director of Michigan’s Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, recently admitted in an interview with the magazine Nature that even if Proposal 2 passes, Michigan researchers might not be able to create new embryonic stem cell lines unless they receive taxpayer funding. She added, “It will just make life easier knowing we can do it.” Proposal 2 isn't really about cures, it’s about giving researchers the ability to do whatever they want and preventing any local or state regulations on their research.

The Grand Rapids Press recommends voting NO on 2

The Grand Rapids Press says this type of research "warrants oversight" that Proposal 2 would prohibit and should not be a "constitutional issue." According to the newspaper: “As the state's foundational document of government, the Michigan Constitution ought to be amended only for overwhelming cause and where other alternatives are inadequate. Stem cell research doesn't rise to that level. For that reason, we recommend a NO vote on Proposal 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot.”

The Saginaw News says No to Prop. 2

The Saginaw News says the Michigan Constitution is not the place for Proposal 2. According to the newspaper: "Our argument is with puttering with the state's foremost legal document. Amending it makes it so, so difficult to un-amend if it doesn't work out."

The Daily Telegram says "No state regulation? 'No on Proposal 2'"

The Daily Telegram said if for no other reason Michigan residents should vote no on 2 because it would prevent state regulation. According to the newspaper: “It’s impossible to say whether certain advances may only be made through embryonic stem cell research, or whether they’ll arrive from some form of alternate cell study. State citizens, however, have a right to expect that any research enshrined in the state constitution be subject to state review and oversight. That is something Proposal 2 is genetically predisposed against, and that is why state voters must reject it.”

The Monroe Evening News said voters should reject Prop 2

The Monroe Evening News said it would be unwise to tie the hands of legislators with Proposal 2 and recommends Michigan residents vote no. According to the newspaper: “What this means is that the Legislature cannot enact any restrictions on the research -- including safety or ethical rules on how the research is carried out. Such restrictions would require another constitutional amendment.”

Bay City Times says Prop 2 is bad law

The Bay City Times called Proposal 2 "bad law" and recommends Michigan residents vote no. According to the newspaper: “Proposal 2 would allow researchers in Michigan to harvest embryonic stem cells in the state, and prohibit any attempt in the Legislature to tinker with the law. This is a textbook example of what we mean about locking laws into the vault of the Michigan Constitution. If flaws in this proposal later appear, it’s too late to tweak the law after it becomes part of the Constitution.”

$3 billion is not enough for cures in California

In 2004, voters in California approved spending $3 billion dollars on embryonic stem cell research after they were promised that Proposition 71 would lead to cures for all kinds of disease. Four years after Proposition 71 passed, California researchers are now admitting that $3 billion dollars won’t be enough for researchers to cure diseases. The head of the agency responsible for the distribution of the $3 billion in tax dollars to researchers even said they were “handicapped severely here” because $3 billion is now not enough for them. Are false promises the cure Michigan needs? Vote NO on Proposal 2.

Don't exempt health industry from health, safety or ethical oversight

As a person living with multiple sclerosis, Dave Doyle would love more than anyone to find cures and new treatments for diseases and illnesses. But Proposal 2, the embryonic stem cell ballot proposal, will not provide the answers promised by its backers. Instead, Proposal 2 goes too far by placing an exemption from health, safety or ethical oversight in the state Constitution for this new industry. FULL STORY