Stem Cell Debate Hits Florida

The stem cell debate has gotten more interesting. Floridians for Stem Cell Research & Cures have launched a petition drive to put stem cell research funding on the Florida 2008 ballot. They failed to do so in 2006. Citizens for Science and Ethics have launched a counter drive for a 2008 ballot measure to ban Florida from stem cell research funding. If both grassroots group get 600,000 certified signatures they will still need 60 percent of the voters to vote yes.


The one thing that may doom the Christian Right is that stem cell research supporters have made their presence felt with campaign donations.

Proponents of Missouri constitutional amendment to protect embryonic stem cell research have broken every record on political spending for statewide races, with one billionaire couple bankrolling nearly all of the $28.7 million campaign.

That total price tag is staggering when compared to even the most expensive campaigns in Missouri history. The stem cell campaign is already more than twice as costly as any campaign for a Missouri ballot measure.

The amount spent by proponents of the stem cell measure is greater that the total spent by all candidates combined in any race to date for statewide office, including governor or U.S. senator.

Newly elected politicans, from both parties, have heard the money jingle and are tripping over each to see who can promise to spend the most. Poll after poll shows the majority of Americans support stem cell research. The Christian Right will drive a wedge into the Republican Party on this issue. Democrats can use stem cell research to fundraise and get-out-the-vote.