Group urges $200 million for stem-cell research [Florida]
By Palm Beach Post,
Palm Beach Post
| 09. 22. 2005
WEST PALM BEACH _ Florida would give $200 million over 10 years to human embryonic stem-cell research under a constitutional amendment proposal drafted by Floridians for Stem Cell Research and Cures.
The proposal's language, released Wednesday, is designed to avoid the pitfalls that have beset California's $3 billion stem-cell initiative, which passed in late 2004 but has yet to be financed. It would put the Florida Department of Health in charge of issuing money to qualified scientists and would issue the grants only to nonprofit research institutions.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson, who launched the group, hopes to put the measure on the ballot in time for the November 2006 election. To do that, he will have to gather 611,000 signatures from registered voters by Dec. 31.
Embryonic stem cells are controversial because of their origin: In most cases, they are the leftovers from fertility clinics, allowed to grow in culture a few days beyond fertilization.
Scientists believe they have the potential to become almost any type of cell. They are working to coax such cells into nerve, heart...
Related Articles
By Katherine Long, Ben Foldy, and Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal | 12.13.2025
Inside a closed Los Angeles courtroom, something wasn’t right.
Clerks working for family court Judge Amy Pellman were reviewing routine surrogacy petitions when they spotted an unusual pattern: the same name, again and again.
A Chinese billionaire was seeking parental...
By David Jensen, The California Stem Cell Report | 12.11.2025
California’s stem cell and gene therapy agency today approved spending $207 million more on training and education, sidestepping the possibility of using the cash to directly support revolutionary research that has been slashed and endangered by the Trump administration.
Directors...
By Sarah Kliff, The New York Times | 12.10.2025
Micah Nerio had known since his early 30s that he wanted to be a father, even if he did not have a partner. He spent a decade saving up to pursue surrogacy, an expensive process where he would create embryos...
Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...
