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New York Legislature Pledges to Outstrip Competitors in Funding Ambitious Embryo Research Project

By Gudrun Schultz

ALBANY, New York, January 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - New Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced plans to push through a government-funded embryonic stem cell research project that would make New York the leading state in East Coast research initiatives, the New York Times reported yesterday.

At least half of the massive, $2 billion 10-year bond proposal would be allocated to fund development in stem cell research. The Spitzer administration is billing the project as the centerpiece of economic development in the state. According to the Times report, the administration is hoping to attract Republican members of the legislature to the proposal by emphasizing the financial gains the project could bring to the state.

Along with legislation establishing the bond program, the administration has proposed a measure that would establish the legality of research using human embryos, in an effort to bypass profound ethical concerns surrounding the use of human embryos in research, which requires killing the embryo.

Kathleen Gallagher, spokeswoman for the New York State Catholic Conference, said: “We are gravely concerned, and we would oppose such a bond act. We recognize that they say they will ban cloning, but what they’re talking about is banning the cloning of live born babies, but funding the cloning of human embryos that will be destroyed for research.” The conference is the public policy voice of the state’s Catholic bishops.

Ongoing breakthroughs in research using adult stem cells, and the discovery of stem cells in amniotic fluid with the potential to operate similarly to embryonic cells, have further undermined the argument for investing in research that requires the destruction of human embryos, opponents have pointed out.

While the success of adult stem cell research has received little attention in the push for legalized embryonic research, a growing body of work showing significant results in the potential of adult cells for human medical therapy is becoming more difficult to ignore.

As well, opponents of the Spitzer proposal say it will be difficult to convince New York voters of the economic benefits of a project that requires undertaking such a massive bond.

The proposal must receive approval from the State Senate and Assembly before it can be presented to voters.

See New York Times coverage:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/nyregion/16stem.html?ex=1326603600&en=c4f4...

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

New York Democrats Propose $1 Billion Embryonic Stem Cell Public Funding
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05011905.html

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