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Measured Progress on Stem Cells in NJ
Then gubernatorial candidate Corzine
at a NJ stem cell lab in 2005. Source: AP
The New Jersey state appellate court decided in favor of stem cell research this past Friday. The decision allows the Stem Cell Bond Referendum to go on the November ballot with its present wording so that voters can consider the NJ Research Bond Act of 2007 (S1091/A3186). The referendum seeks necessary voter approval for the enforcement of the act already passed by the legislature. Through the sale of state-held bonds, the act will provide $450 million in funding for stem cell research over the course of ten years. The Commission on Science and Technology will grant funds to research institutions pending independent research review panel approval and review by the NJ Economic Development Authority on the commercial viability of the research.
In the case over the referendum, McKenzie et al. v. Corzine, fifteen individuals and the NJ Right to Life Committee challenged the referendum on grounds that the funds would pay for human cloning, would require state property tax hikes in order to repay the incurred debt, and that bias and a lack of clarity prevented voters from making an informed judgment of the issues. The NJ Court of Appeals ruled against these claims, upholding the decision of Superior Court Judge Neil Shuster, and said that the referendum described the Act faithfully and that it should appear as written on the November 6 ballot.
NJ Governor John Corzine lauded the referendum in a press release saying, “New Jersey continues to forge ahead as a pioneer in stem cell research and discovery.”
If voters pass the referendum, the additional state funding may spur the progress of embryonic stem cell research, but as Faye Armitage points out in a Science Progress editorial, it still remains uncertain as to how much of this funding will go towards embryonic stem cell research and how much will go towards less-promising adult stem cell research. So far, $9 of NJ state funding has gone to adult stem cell research for every $1 that has gone to embryonic stem cell research.
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