Stemming The Tide

Watching other states like California and New Jersey take the lead in flipping off President Bush and funding stem cell research themselves, a few New York politicians have wisely suggested that we get in on the game, and fast. Biotech research, after all, can be worth billions to the state economy, and stem cells are going to play a central role in that research for the foreseeable future. If scientists at Columbia, NYU, Cornell or private facilities can't do their work here, it would be simple as pie for them to hop across the river.

What state senator David Paterson (D-Manhattan) has proposed is $1 billion in state funding, which would be raised through the sale of bonds. If, that is, the voters decide to go for it.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) has proposed her own bill, which outlines strict rules and limits for any stem cell research that does take place in the state.

Happy as I am to see some effort being made, those two things together-Krueger's bill and the vote-are almost certain to kill the possibility of stem cell research in New York for some time.

While Krueger sees her bill as a way of silencing critics of the research, what it does more than anything is put a muzzle on the researchers themselves, who don't much appreciate being told what they can and can't investigate. Again, it will be very easy for them to pick up and move to another state or another country with fewer restrictions.

Then there are the voters. Sure, California voters overwhelmingly approved $3 billion in research funds, but they had that Christopher Reeve badgering them day and night. Now he's gone, and there are no more popular celebrity quadriplegics riding our backs about how stem cell research can potentially help cure spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Alzheimer's. And the public's memory is pretty short.

When it comes to selling embryonic stem cell research to voters, the real problem remains the politicians themselves. Even if they support the research, most don't really understand it, and can't explain what's involved. I can't claim to fully understand it myself, but I've watched television reports about stem cell research with people who do, and they inevitably shake their heads in dismay when politicians start "explaining" it.

The president aside (who seems to believe the process involves dropping newborns into blenders), even many Democrats end up sweating a lot before confessing that "dead babies" are involved. And that's why this proposal is doomed unless Paterson does a little research, or brings a real scientist along with him to answer questions in a clear and concise manner. Because even though the proposal at this point is being discussed in purely economic terms, the "dead baby" rhetoric is going to come up long before any vote, and pro-life groups are going to be blanketing the airwaves with scare ads.

-Jim Knipfel