Tuesday, March 30 2010 > Dateline Sacramento (01/14/10) > Wait No More: God’s call to the church > Monday, March 8 2010 > California’s Proposition 71 – A $3,000,000,000 Bait and Switch
California’s Proposition 71 – A $3,000,000,000 Bait and Switch
California’s Proposition 71 – A $3,000,000,000 Bait and Switch
On November 2, 2004 California voters passed Proposition 71, which established a constitutional right to conduct embryonic stem cell research. It also authorized the state to borrow $3 billion – on behalf of the taxpayers – with a projected total cost of $6 billion, including interest, to fund the research. In addition, it established the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to regulate stem cell research and provide funding through grants and loans for such research and research facilities.
Fifty-nine percent of the electorate was convinced that embryonic stem cell research was on the cutting edge of science and that public funding for the harvesting of preborn babies’ stem cells would be the key to finding successful treatments for myriad debilitating physical conditions.
Supporters of the CIRM held out hopes of imminent medical breakthroughs that were claimed to only be delayed by President Bush’s policy disallowing federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. California voters were convinced and agreed to foot the bill.
Because the lives of thousands of preborn human embryos were now at stake, California Family Council created the California Family Bioethics Council LLC, which filed a lawsuit against Proposition 71. The lawsuit pointed out blatant conflicts of interest, as members of the CIRM board were charged with overseeing the $3 billion in bond money, yet themselves benefitted from the distribution of that money. Although the lawsuit did not ultimately succeed, it delayed the process and saved innocent lives.
Five years later, and after taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), there have been no cures and no successful therapies. So now ESCR supporters are embracing research they once cavalierly rejected.
ESCR has failed to deliver, and backers of Prop. 71 are admitting failure. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state agency created to “restore science to its rightful place,” is diverting funds from ESCR to research that has produced actual therapies and treatments.
Treatments with adult stem cells have not only helped real people with real results, they also protect the sanctity of life. This classic bait-and-switch is an attempt to dismiss the failure of ESCR and take credit for discoveries and advances achieved through adult stem cell research, not at all what the proponents of Proposition 71 had promised.
Dr. Bernadine Healy, director of the National Institutes of Health under President George W. Bush, recently wrote in her U.S. News & World Report column that embryonic stem cells, once thought to hold the cure for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes, are obsolete. Even worse, they can be dangerous. They are difficult to control and to coax into the specific type of tissue desired. Unlike adult stem cells taken from a patient’s own body, embryonic stem cells require the heavy use of immunosuppressive drugs. Their use can lead to a form of tumor called a teratoma.
In 2008, as embryonic stem cell cures looked increasingly unlikely, a new president, bringing a track record of discoveries from the lab to the clinic, was hired for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. “If we went 10 years and had no clinical treatments, it would be a failure,” said the new president, Alan Trounson, a stem cell pioneer from Australia. “We need to demonstrate that we are starting a whole new medical revolution.”
CIRM is attempting to do that now by funding adult stem cell research. Nearly $230 million was handed out this past October to 14 research teams. Notably, only four of those projects involve embryonic stem cells.
Among the recipients, the Los Angeles Times reports, is a group from UCLA and Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles that hopes to cure patients with sickle cell disease by genetically modifying their own blood-forming stem cells to produce healthy red blood cells. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will use their grant to research injecting heart-attack patients with concentrated amounts of their own cardiac stem cells that naturally repair heart tissue.
California Family Council believes that human life is sacred, stemming from our Creator. We are committed to protecting the preborn from harm and will continue to work diligently to protect the most innocent and vulnerable among us. It is our desire to keep you informed on the latest news and research, so please visit our website regularly. We encourage you to forward our publications to your family and friends.
- Home
- Legislation Shifts Kindergarten Cut-off Age
- TrueU Events
- About Us
- Research & Publications
- Opinion
- Real Revival Is About Showing Up
- Coming to a TV Near You
- Message from Ron Prentice
- Blocked Survey Reveals Support for Abstinence
- Voting as Worship?
- It’s Okay to Talk to Strangers!
- The Government of, by, and for our Children
- Traditional Marriage Outdated?
- Prentice on CBS tonight!
- Federal Judge Rules Against Proposition 8
- Message from Ron Prentice - July 30, 2010
- Message from Ron Prentice - July 23, 2010
- Changing Terms Can Change Culture
- Message from Ron Prentice - July 9, 2010
- Tolerance and Faith Collide
- Father Knows Best June 24, 2010
- Let the Children Come to Me
- PRIMARY ELECTION THOUGHTS
- Message from Ron Prentice - June 8, 2010
- Vitally Important Statistics
- Message from Ron Prentice- June 1, 2010
- Time for a Change: Liberal to the Core
- “The New Normal,” a Pro-life America
- Message from Ron Prentice- May 19, 2010
- Message from Ron Prentice- May 14, 2010
- Get Ready to Cast Your Ballot!
- California Pipe Dreams
- Message from Ron Prentice- May 7, 2010
- Today’s Video Games
- Message from Ron Prentice- April 30, 2010
- The National Day of Prayer: Cancelled?
- Politically Correct “Research”
- Message from Ron Prentice- April 23, 2010
- Preborn Court Battle
- Teaching Time-tested Values
- Tonight on NBC 4/16/2010
- Easter Message from Ron Prentice
- Remembering Don Hamer
- Message from Ron Prentice, CEO
- Out with the old, in with the new?
- Challenges face California in 2010
- Crusade is a dangerous effort to redefine 'rights'
- Nothing new under the sun: Legislative sequel ahead
- Changing Seasons; Changing Terms
- The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm
- Veto ultimatum not kept, Governor signs 478 bills into law
- The Evolution of Divorce (Fall, 2009)
- Going,going, gone: 2009 legislative session wrap-up
- Wait No More: God’s call to the church
- Legislative Climate Centers on Budget, Will Turn To Water
- Only parents can determine what’s ‘in the child’s best interest’
- The Voice Claims Another Victim
- Checkmate
- Education: The erosion of instructional time
- National Foster Care Month
- Pornography Has Victims
- Changing Attitudes on Childrearing and the Preborn
- A Victory for Patriots at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- Local Links (3/18/2010)
- Grace and Mercy on a Soul
- Field poll shows voters prefer spending cuts to solve $20 billion deficit
- Dynamic and Interactive Event a Hit with Teens
- Local Links
- Play-Dough Lessons Teach Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
- Prayer Guide
- August 17, 2010
- July 14, 2010 Prayer Guide
- June 22, 2010 Prayer Guide
- May 17, 2010 Prayer Guide
- April 20, 2010 Prayer Guide
- April 1, 2010 Prayer Guide
- March 17, 2010 Prayer Guide
- March 1, 2010 Prayer Guide
- February 15, 2010 Prayer Guide
- February 1, 2010 Prayer Guide
- January 15, 2010 Prayer Guide
- January 1, 2010 Prayer Guide
- December 15, 2009 Prayer Guide
- December 1, 2009 Prayer Guide
- November 15, 2009 Prayer Guide
- November 1, 2009 Prayer Guide
- October 15, 2009 Prayer Guide
- October 1, 2009 Prayer Guide
- This Week Inside The Capitol
- Contact the Governor’s Office
- The Beginning of the End
- Are we there yet?
- New Dem Budget Proposal “DOA”
- This Week Inside the Capitol July 7, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol June 28, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol June 21, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol June 14, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol - June 7, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol - May 24, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol- May 17, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol-May 3, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol-April 21, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol-April 12, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol-April 5, 2010
- This Week Inside the Capitol-March 22, 2010
- This Week Inside The Capitol (3/15/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (3/8/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (3/1/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (2/22/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (2/16/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (2/8/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (2/1/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (1/25/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (1/19/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (1/11/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (1/4/2010)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (9/8/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (8/31/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (8/24/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (8/17/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (7/27/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (7/20/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (7/13/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (7/6/2009)
- This Week Inside The Capitol (6/29/2009)
- This Week Inside the Capitol (06/23/2009)
- This Week Inside the Capitol (6/15/2009)
- This Week In The Capitol (6/8/2009)
- This Week Inside the Capitol (6/1/2009)
- Research
- Dateline Sacramento
- Dateline Sacramento (3/18/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (3/11/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (3/4/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (2/25/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (2/18/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (2/12/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (2/04/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (1/28/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (01/21/2010)
- Dateline Sacramento (01/14/10)
- Dateline Sacramento (1/7/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (12/17/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (12/10/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (12/3/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (11/19/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (11/12/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (11/05/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (10/29/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (10/22/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (10/15/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (10/8/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (10/1/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (9/24/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento September 17, 2009
- Dateline Sacramento (9/10/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (9/3/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (8/27/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (8/20/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (8/13/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (8/6/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (7/30/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (7/16/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (7/10/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (7/3/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (6/25/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (06/18/2009)
- Dateline Sacramento (6/11/09)
- Dateline Sacramento (6/4/09)
- A Victory for Free Speech and Religious Freedom
- New Speaker Sworn-in: Bipartisanship, Budget and Reform are Top Priorities
- Local Links (3/4/2010)
- Generation Next: Who are the Millennials?
- www.PornHarms.com - New Web Site Creates Coalition
- Amid Voter Dissatisfaction, Legislators Introduce over 1500 Bills
- Local Links (2/25/2010)
- One Nation Under God
- New Poll Finds Americans Increasingly Opposed to Assisted Suicide
- State Legislature Once Again Demonstrates its Dysfunction
- Local Links (2/18/2010)
- That’s It? Tebow Ad Unmasks the Abortion Movement
- Planned Parenthood Continues Efforts to Undermine Parents
- New Study Reveals Disturbing Trend In Television Programming
- Local Links (2/11/2010)
- Father – and Mother – Know Best
- The Federal Trial Against the People of California and Proposition 8 – We’ve Only Just Begun
- 2010 Legislative Year Comes into Focus
- Local Links (2/4/2010)
- Teen Pregnancy Rates Rise Slightly
- Mass Media: The New Parent?
- Marriage “Pays Off”
- Local Links (1/28/2010)
- Sticks and Stones
- California’s Proposition 71 – A $3,000,000,000 Bait and Switch
- Budget season begins where it left off
- Local Links (01/21/2010)
- Marriage on Trial (01/14/10)
- Disturbing Study Strongly Links Child Porn Use and Child Molestation
- Local Links (01/14/10)
- They're Back: Legislators Return to Sacramento
- The Changing Faces of the Pro-life Movement
- Religious Freedom Sunday Is This Sunday, January 10th
- Local Links (1/7/2010)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Protects First Amendment Rights of Privacy
- The Impact of the Recession on U.S. Marriages
- Complexities of Modern Faith
- Local Links (12/17/2009)
- Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
- The Proliferation of Pornography and the Destruction of the American Family
- The Next Speaker of the Assembly?
- Local Links (12/10/2009
- Media Violence Cause and Effect
- Adoption in the United States: A Survey of Adoptive Parents
- Latest CNN Poll Finds 61% of Americans Oppose Tax-funded Abortions
- Local Links (12/3/2009)
- Special Thanksgiving Message 2009
- Difficult Lessons Learned
- Rise in STDs impacts teens and young adults – despite comprehensive sex-education programs
- Do Children and Teens Benefit from Church Activity? – New Research Just Released
- Local Links (11/19/2009)
- Abstinence is the Best Policy
- Parents Matter
- Polls Find Californians Weary of Gay Marriage Ballot Measure
- Local Links (11/12/2009)
- Maine Citizens Vote to Uphold the Traditional Definition of Marriage
- Pure Religion
- Water Deal Reached, Headed to Governor and the 2010 November Ballot
- Local Links (11/05/2009)
- MARRIAGE: Institutional Model vs. Soul-Mate Model
- No Longer Turning a Blind Eye
- A Great Opportunity for You to Make a Real Difference
- Local Links (10/29/2009)
- Divisive Question
- Latest Poll Reveals Dismal Approval Ratings for Congress and California’s U.S. Senators
- Governor’s flip-flops damage trust, jeopardize water deal
- Local Links (10/22/2009)
- How Low Can They Go?
- “The people of California have the right to practice caution”
- Governor Signs Homosexual Bills over Vocal Objections
- Local Links (10/15/2009)
- Encouraging News - Attitudes are Changing!
- Masquerading as safety
- Water Deal or Governor Vetoes
- Local Links (10/8/2009)
- The Hollywood Disconnect about Polanski
- The Initiative Process under assault, but remains the people’s vehicle for change
- Marriage Battle Continues in the Golden State
- New Report Details the Life-saving Impact of Pregnancy Resource Centers
- Local Links (10/1/2009)
- Gender Identity and the EEOC
- Shifting the Burden – California Tax Overhaul Plan Nearing Completion
- On the governor's desk
- Local Links (9/24/2009)
- Perry v Schwarzenegger Trial Approaches
- The California Legislature Adjourns for 2009
- See You at the Pole!
- Local links
- California Family Council Offers More Truth Project Group Leader Training Seminars
- President Obama visits your child’s classroom
- Remembering 9/11/01
- Final week of the Legislature sees Leno bills approved and an unexpected resignation
- Local Links (9/10/2009)
- Legislative Update (9/9/2009)
- Legislative Update (9/4/2009)
- President Obama Is Scheduled to Address the Nation’s Students
- California Attempts to “Race to the Top” for Federal Education Funds
- Wait No More: Finding Families for California’s Waiting Kids
- Local Links (9/3/2009)
- CFC Legislative Update (9/1/2009)
- Harvey Milk Day Quest Continues
- Evangelical Lutheran Church Abandons Biiblical Foundations to Approve Same-sex Clergy
- What Is Truth?
- Local Links (8/27/2009)
- Budget Deal Part II: Corrections Cuts Will Be Ugly
- Water Takes Center Stage
- Proposition 8 Begins Journey Through Federal Courts
- Local Links (8/20/2009)
- Budget Battle Continues: Steinberg v. Schwarzenegger
- APA Refuses To Acknowledge Sexual Orientation Can Change
- Alameda Families File Suit Over School District's Homosexual Curriculum
- Local Links (08/13/2009)
- A Third Initiative Filed to Challenge Traditional Marriage
- Actions Have Consequences!
- And then there were 5
- Baptist Convention Takes a Strong Stand for Children…
- Budget Dance Jitterbugs Along…
- Budget Debate Heats Up: Consolidate or Eliminate?
- Budget Impasse Results In State IOUs
- Budget redux (5/21/09)
- Budget Signed, Blue Pencil Activity and Continued Deficits
- Budget, Budget and More Budget
- Court Victory: battle continues…
- Downgrades, Layoffs and Strikes Spur Budget Discussion
- Leno’s Bills Undermines the Family
- Local links (06/11/2009)
- Local links (5/21/09)
- Local links (5/28/09)
- Local links (6/4/09)
- Local Links (6/25/2009)
- Local Links (7/3/2009)
- Local Links (7/10/2009)
- Local Links (7/16/2009)
- Local Links (7/30/2009)
- Local links 5/14/09
- Murder is never justified
- NEA Convention: What Role Will They Play?
- Pro-life Americans outnumber pro-choice (5/21/09)
- Proposition 8 Begins Journey Through Federal Court
- Protests, Boycotts and Word Wars...Budget Impasse Continues
- Rise In Acceptance of Cohabitation in Young Adults has Not Changed Desire for Life-Long Marriages
- Santa Ana Comes Together To Pray
- Short takes (5/28/09)
- Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Begins
- The Faith of African-Americans
- The Faith of America’s Hispanics
- UCLA student’s religious liberty challenged…
- Wait over; challenges intensify (5/28/09)
- Opinion
- Calendar
- Help for Pastors
- Legislative Action Center
- Contact Us
