Stem Cell Funding Sought.

Essay by RunRabbitRun89A-, September 2005

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Two lawmakers from Maryland are proposing legislation to dedicate $25 million a year to helping the state's scientists pursue stem cell research. Stem cells can involve cloning and the destruction of embryos, but could also lead to treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes. The Bush Administration has funded only limited research into this controversial science. New Jersey was the first state to fund research that the federal government wouldn't. Recently, other states like Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois are mimicking the initiative of New Jersey. "We now run a real risk here of losing scientists to other jurisdictions," said Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg, a Baltimore Democrat who is sponsoring one of the bills.

These initiatives could put Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in a difficult position. The proposals backed by Rosenberg and Senator Paula C. Hollinger, the lawmakers in Maryland, would fund types of research previously opposed by Ehrlich while he was in Congress.

"I am increasingly concerned that such scientific experiments, ripe with moral, ethical, and scientific implications, could be abused and misused by a few individuals in the scientific community," Ehrlich wrote in his position paper. Dr. John Gearhart, a stem cell researcher at John Hopkins University, hopes Ehrlich will reconsider his position on the issue. Ehrlich's of the policies that limit research won't help Maryland keep pace with other states where research isn't restricted.

In conclusion, this ties in with government class because it involves Congress and the passing of a bill. In order for the bill to be passed, it must first pass in both houses. Then it is forwarded to the President, where he can either sign it or veto it. If he vetoes it, Congress must get a 2/3 vote to overturn the President's veto. Sometimes Congress will attach other...