CGS-authored
California's Legislature and the state's $3 billion stem cell research institute are engaged in a dangerous game of political chicken. No one will win if both keep careening toward the ballot box. In hopes of avoiding such a smashup, we offer a compromise.
Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, has introduced a constitutional amendment that seeks to correct some of the shortcomings of Proposition 71, the 2004 ballot proposition that allows a select group to dispense $300 million in research funds each year for a decade. Ortiz's bill, SCA 13, would specify how this group should handle open meetings, conflicts of interests and licensing agreements for stem cell therapies.
These are all important issues. Ortiz's solutions are not perfect, but her measure and her long-standing support for stem cell research deserve respect. Instead, the institute's oversight committee and its supporters have launched a campaign to demonize her.
At Monday's meeting, oversight committee member Joan Samuelson, an advocate for people with Parkinson's disease, said Ortiz's measures "will be measured in extra suffering and death."
"How dare she!" said Jeff Sheehy, normally a thoughtful...
Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, has introduced a constitutional amendment that seeks to correct some of the shortcomings of Proposition 71, the 2004 ballot proposition that allows a select group to dispense $300 million in research funds each year for a decade. Ortiz's bill, SCA 13, would specify how this group should handle open meetings, conflicts of interests and licensing agreements for stem cell therapies.
These are all important issues. Ortiz's solutions are not perfect, but her measure and her long-standing support for stem cell research deserve respect. Instead, the institute's oversight committee and its supporters have launched a campaign to demonize her.
At Monday's meeting, oversight committee member Joan Samuelson, an advocate for people with Parkinson's disease, said Ortiz's measures "will be measured in extra suffering and death."
"How dare she!" said Jeff Sheehy, normally a thoughtful...