California scientists want to overturn restrictions on selling and buying human eggs
Human embryonic stem cell researchers unable to come anywhere near treating human patients never blame themselves or embryonic stem cells for the failures, the blame is placed on restrictions. In Michigan, researchers blame a law which 
prevents them from killing human embryos. In California, where embryonic stem cell research is funded by billions of dollars, researchers are now blaming a rule which prevents them from buying eggs as the reason their human cloning research is failing. Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society was quoted as saying, "Do we really want to put women at risk to provide raw materials for research a lot of scientists say really isn't the way to go?" Human egg "black markets" and conflicts of interest are serious concerns swirling around human embryonic stem cell research.
Unrestricted Science Points to Human-Animal Hybrids
British
scientists at Newcastle
University have resorted to creating cloned hybrid embryos which
are part human and part cow. Cow eggs were used for these cloning experiments
because researchers have had difficultly obtaining a large enough quantity
of human eggs. MiCAUSE Spokesperson David
Doyle said the loopholes in the proposal
would outlaw any attempt by the Michigan legislature to ban creation
of human-animal hybrids for stem cell research. Human-animal hybrids
experimentation, which is going on now in the United Kingdom, serves
as an example of unrestricted, unethical science.
Here Come the Clones . . .
In July, the Detroit Free Press reported
that Stem Cell Ballot
Question Committee Campaign Director Mark Burton said backers decided
"we couldn't politically escape the label of cloning." Cloning
is an issue most voters put in the weird science category for good reason.
Dolly the cloned sheep was euthanized young because of complications attributed
to the cloning process. Dolly deserved better and public opinion polls
show people are uneasy with human cloning. The proposal
has a "do nothing" clause that neither changes nor protects
the current ban on cloning. According to the Detroit Free Press article,
Burton suggested the ban on cloning could be revisited once the general
public becomes more familiar with the science.
The Proposal is Deliberately Deceptive
The language of the proposal
is deliberately deceptive. For the last two years, Representative Andrew
Meisner and Senator Gretchen Whitmer have been working in the state legislature
to legalize human cloning and allow for unrestricted experimentation on
live human embryos. Their legislative efforts have to date failed. In
January, the Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee announced petition
language for the proposed constitutional amendment.
FULL STORY
PETITION LANGUAGE
The Proposal Does Not Ban Human Cloning
The proposal
does not secure a human cloning ban in Michigan's Constitution. The proposal
states it will do nothing to change the current law banning cloning, but
it actually does nothing to protect Michigan's ban on cloning.
FULL STORY
PETITION LANGUAGE
The Proposal Permits Unrestricted Science
In November, voters should not be deceived by this proposal.
It will allow for unregulated, unrestricted experimentation on human embryos.
The proposal’s language allows for any research on live human embryos
which is permitted under federal law. Federal law currently has no restrictions
on research on human embryos. Therefore, research on human embryos in
Michigan would have no restrictions.
FULL STORY
PETITION LANGUAGE
Paid for with regulated funds by Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science & Experimentation
P.O. Box 9808, Grand Rapids, MI 49509
P.O. Box 9808, Grand Rapids, MI 49509