Wednesday, June 13, 2007

New Jersey and Stem Cell Research: Perfect Together.

New Jersey and Stem Cell Research are Perfect Together. But no thanks to Assemblyman Mike Doherty.

According to the Star-Ledger today, "New Jersey's drive to become a center for stem cell research advanced on two fronts yesterday: The state authorized $9.1 million to launch construction of a stem cell research lab and lawmakers agreed to ask voters to approve $450 million to bankroll research grants.”

However, Republican Assemblyman Mike Doherty voted to oppose the plan.

This is a man who questions the existence of global warming. He says that it “does not matter” if we believe in the science of evolution or creationism. It is disturbing that we have a representative in Trenton who does not believe in science.

In the past, folks such as Doherty would have been considered harmless crackpots who sometimes wrote letters to local newspapers or stood on street corners shouting at passersby that the world was ending next Thursday. But today, the Republicans nominate him to run for Assembly, and the folks in Warren and Hunterdon Counties actually elect him to represent our interests in Trenton. Yes, I am proud to say this is one of the people representing me in the state legislature.

NJ can be and should be a leader in the effort to make the benefits of stem cell research a reality. The economic benefits for New Jersey are many, too many to list here. The possible medical benefits of stem cell research are also too many to list here, but can be found on the website of Dr. Fred Ferrari, a local Republican and a stem cell research activist. Yes, folks, there are some thinking Republicans out there.

However, Mike Doherty is not one of them.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

New Jersey was one of the first states to start the ball rolling for blastocystic stem cell research. I'm glad to see any state support the research.

You have a nice blog. I'll check Dr. Ferrari's blog next.

Yvonne Perry,
Author of RIGHT TO RECOVER: Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America
www.right2recover.com

Unknown said...

Dr. Ferrari's link didn't work for me. I got a message that says the page cannot be found.

Yvonne