In a Tom Barrett campaign ad that began airing in late September, a poor old woman comes on the screen. She says her son has juvenile diabetes, a disease that could potentially be cured one day by stem cell research. She then makes a claim that PolitiFact calls flat out false.

“Scott Walker says he would ban stem cell research in Wisconsin.” She goes on, as if she were shaking her fist at the county executive himself, “That’s right ban it. But how can you be against hope”?

See, there are three different types of cells you can use in research: Adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. Adult stem cells and iPS cells cause less controversy, since the former are cells that could be scraped off you or me, and the latter are genetically manufactured.

But it’s those embryonic stem cells that have caused so much strife between science and religion. So, when Barrett’s campaign says Walker wants to ban stem cell research, that’s not at all fair, since he has said in the past that he would only support a ban on embryonic stem cell research.

Barrett is now nine percentage points behind Walker, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. It’s frustrating to see his campaign has resorted to grieving mothers in a last ditch effort to grab that 6 or 7 percent of the population that is undecided. But Walker’s actual stance on stem cell research is just as frustrating.

On Tuesday, while doing a Brown Bag Movement stop in the basement of the Wingra Stone Company on Madison’s southwest side, Walker wouldn’t go so far to say whether he supported a ban on embryonic research.

“I do not support destroying a human embryo,” he said in response to a direct question about banning embryonic stem cell research, according to the Associated Press. “I’m going to put the money behind adult stem cell, not embryonic.”

The wishy-washy answer triggered a firestorm of attention. Walker had previously told Pro-Life Wisconsin, an organization that opposes abortion for all reasons, that he would support a complete ban on embryonic stem cell research – one of the reasons the group gave him a “100 percent” rating.

Embryonic stem cell research can bring an enormous amount of money to this city and this state. Hopefully, this is an issue brought up in Friday’s debate, and the people of Wisconsin will be able to hear Walker’s exact position on such an important matter.

Kevin Bargnes ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and history.