The Associated Students of Madison announced their endorsement Tuesday of President Barack Obama’s promise to overturn the federal funding ban on stem cell research.
The federal funding ban was established by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and prevents federal money from funding research on new embryonic stem cell lines.
“ASM hopes to call upon state lawmakers, university officials and students to highlight the overturning of the ban as a relevant issue that will bring great academic and economic benefits to the university,” said Kurt Gosselin, Student Services Finance Committee chair.
According to ASM Chair Brittany Wiegand, they hope the overturning of the ban will provide fuel for the state’s waning economy.
Wiegand added that according to Wisconsin Edge, an organization established by several Wisconsin businesses, stem cell research in the state has pulled nearly $50 million in grants, thus proving to be a profitable field.
“With the economy in the situation that it is, opening the door to further stem cell research could provide countless employment and research opportunities for UW students and faculty alike,” Wiegand said. “We hope to bring more funding to the state.”
According to Gosselin, the University of Wisconsin has long been a forerunner in the growing field of stem cell research.
Gosselin added that UW School of Medicine and Public Health professor James Thomson received the Massry Award for growing the first embryonic stem cells.
Gosselin also said more funding could create more research opportunities for students and professors.
ASM will likely take action through the United States Student Association, a student-run national lobbying organization that represents students at the federal level, according to Wiegand.
“We will encourage the USSA to pursue this as an issue at the federal level,” Gosselin added. “ASM will indicate that there is a large constituent of people within the university and the state that want this to happen.”
According to Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, reasonable limits were placed on stem cell research during the Bush administration, and he disagrees with Obama’s plan to allow federal funding.
“I think obviously we have a new president that has very liberal policies and has the ability to do this,” Suder said. “I don’t think the majority of mainstream
Suder added most of his Republican caucus agrees with the Bush administration’s decisions as well, and that such science goes beyond ethical standards.
“We don’t want mad science and cloning experiments occurring in a public arena,” Suder added.
Although ASM endorses the overturning of the ban on federal funding of stem cell research, they do not wish to make a partisan political stance, Gosselin said.
“We rather hope to promote the well-being of the student body,” he added.
According to Wiegand, both the academic and economic incentives to lift the ban on federal funding would largely help rather than hurt the UW campus.
“It is ASM’s goal to best represent the student body,” she said. “The benefits of this cause are enormous.”
