OPINION & EDITORIAL
Celling our future
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
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- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Veto of cloning bill on the right track (November 7, 2005)
- Straight to the bank (October 4, 2005)
- Amended bill to hurt stem-cell research (April 22, 2005)
- Vote Doyle for governor (November 2, 2006)
- Kerry, scientists play God (October 13, 2004)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Monday, November 7, 2005
After several weeks of waiting, Governor Doyle finally did the expected last week and vetoed AB 499, which would have effectively banned human cloning.
While this board has questions regarding the moral implications of such a bill, we applaud Mr. Doyle for recognizing the potential damage such a bill could have on stem-cell research at UW and across the country.
The bill would have made it illegal to engage in reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Many feared the bill had the effect of prohibiting embryonic stem-cell research, as cloning is already banned by the Food and Drug Administration.
Such an effect would have produced devastating consequences for both UW and the state.
UW was recently awarded a contract for the national stem cell bank, which will house the federal government's store of stem-cell lines. The lines will be managed by WiCell, a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The National Institutes for Health — which desired to house the lines in one location — selected this university because of its commitment to stem-cell research. After all, this institution is considered a pioneer in the field.
While we understand that stem-cell research is currently a highly contentious issue in this nation, this bill has significant economic benefits for both the university and the state. UW scientists were the first to successfully isolate human embryonic stem-cell lines in 1998, and the university remains on the forefront of the research to this day. This bill could have effectively shut down the university's research and stifled millions of dollars in donations had Governor Doyle not used his veto. And while the state continues to reduce university funding, private contributions are becoming all the more important in maintaining UW's stature.
This board is aware of the legislature's intent on passing such a bill, but we believe the exceedingly broad nature of the bill would have unleashed devastating economic consequences for both UW and the state.
Stem-cell research is undoubtedly a controversial issue in society today. But for now, this research is here to stay — while providing an income source for the state.
Anonymous (November 7, 2005 @ 3:02am):
Thank G-d that Gard's retards haven't won on this one. Next battle: if I throw away kleenexes with my spooge on them, can I be tried for murder?
Updates to follow...
Anonymous (November 7, 2005 @ 9:09am):
Your editorial about the Governor's veto of AB 499 (human cloning) contains several errors related to the actual reading of the bill. Although there has been an effort to paint this bill as "exceedingly broad", the opposite is actually true, leading one to believe that the writer has not actually read the bill. Assembly 499 was specific to human embryos created by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (cloning) and contain a clarifying clause to make it clear that all other forms of research would not be affected.
