STEM CELLS….Ah, I see that another initiative has qualified for the November ballot in California:
An initiative that would have state taxpayers underwrite $3 billion worth of research into using embryonic stem cells to develop cures for Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases qualified for the Nov. 2 ballot Thursday, propelling California to the forefront of a national battle at the intersection of science and morality.
….The ballot initiative is an implicit referendum on an executive order that President Bush issued in 2001. That action limited the use of federal funds for stem cell research to a small number of cell colonies already extracted from human embryos.
What a shame. I’m all in favor of stem cell research, and I’m all in favor of sticking it to Bush, but I’m not at all sure that I’m in favor of a $3 billion bond issue dedicated to funding one specific area of scientific research.
Still, I guess I could be convinced, and if the opposition from the self-proclaimed morality policy starts to get too annoying I might vote for it just out of pique. After all, that’s what makes California-style democracy such an inspiration to us all, isn’t it?
