Monday, November 3, 2008

Members of the President’s Council of Bioethics warn that Proposal 2 has been misrepresented by supporters

The statement from the President’s Council of Bioethics members Robert George, Gilbert Meilaender, William Hurlbut, Peter Lawler and Diana Schaub is available online here.

The statement notes that Michigan law doesn’t prohibit embryonic stem cell research, there is no federal law regulating research on human embryos, Proposal 2's language leaves non-stem cell forms of research on human embryos completely unregulated, Proposal 2 might create incentives for in-vitro fertility clinics to intentionally create more human embryos than are typically used for fertility treatments and how proponents of Proposal 2 are basing their campaign on “cures” when embryonic stem cell research hasn’t led to a single treatment or cure.

The statement concludes by saying,
In short, Proposal 2 would create a new constitutional right to engage in destruction of human embryos for any medical research purpose, without meaningful limitations. It is not primarily about stem cell research, or about “cures” unobtainable in other, less controversial ways. Michigan voters have a right to know this before they vote.