URGENT about CA's Stem Cell Initiative

GENETIC CROSSROADS
NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTER FOR GENETICS AND SOCIETY
SPECIAL BULLETIN ON CALIFORNIA'S STEM CELL INITIATIVE

OCTOBER 29, 2004

Dear friends of Genetic Crossroads,

Our early concerns about Proposition 71 have grown into an active
campaign to urge Californians to Vote No on 71 on Tuesday. We have been
working with the Pro-Choice Alliance Against Proposition 71,
http://www.allianceagainstprop71.org, to mobilize others who, like us, support
embryonic stem cell research but see Prop 71 as a gigantic give-away of
public funds and public oversight to the biotech sector.

As Election Day draws near, it becomes clear that when people take a
close look at what Prop 71 actually says, they realize that it's a
terrible way to support stem cell research.

Of course, we're up against enormous odds in getting that message out.
In terms of campaign funding, Prop 71 is one of the most lopsided
ballot initiatives in the history of California. The Center for
Genetics and Society and the Pro-Choice Alliance have received generous
contributions from both ongoing and new supporters. But the backers of
Prop 71 have collected about $25 million-about half directly from
venture capitalists (who recognize a windfall when they see one).

So we're asking you to help.

We're asking you to spread the word on Prop 71 to your own circle of
colleagues and friends. You might want to write your own note, or
forward this email, or send the message below, signed by 6 prominent
pro-choice social justice leaders.

Obviously it's most urgent to reach California voters. But Prop 71 has
wider implications: It could set a precedent nationally, even
internationally. So please consider also alerting all those concerned
about the responsible use of powerful new technologies.

We believe you'll find, as we have, that Prop 71 focuses people's
understanding of the urgent need to hold the biotechnology enterprise
accountable to the values of the wider society.

Many thanks for considering this request. Following the email that we
ask you to circulate, you'll find a few remarkable "no on 71" links.

Sincerely,

Richard Hayes, Marcy Darnovsky, Jasmine Gonzales, Rosario Isasi,
Sujatha Jesudason, Jesse Reynolds
The Center for Genetics and Society


Dear friends:

All 6 of us signing this note are longtime pro-choice supporters and
social justice activists. Although we are in support of stem cell
research, we write to urge you to vote NO on California's Proposition
71, the Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. It is the WRONG way to
support stem cell research.

Should this proposition become law, it will have serious and
far-reaching negative consequences that are not at all evident from the
barrage of ads and publicity that focus solely on the potential for
cures. As written, it would allow biotech companies to become
enormously wealthy using scarce public dollars, with no guarantees that
any therapies that might be developed would be truly accessible to the
larger public. Provisions of the Proposition deftly curtail adequate
public oversight, transparency and accountability.

We can support stem cell research through the regular legislative
process and may well not even have to spend state dollars, if Senator
Kerry wins the election in November (he would overturn President Bush's
current, absurd policy on embryo stem cell research and allow the
National Institutes of Health to oversee and regulate this important
arena of research).

For more in-depth critiques of Prop 71, please go to:
http://www.genetics-and-society.org and http://www.AllianceAgainstProp71.org. You
might also be interested in Ellen Goodman's recent column on Prop 71 or
Dan Sarewitz' op ed in the LA Times on Oct 25.

Finally, please forward this email to your friends and colleagues.
Thanks for your attention to this critical matter!

Sincerely,
• Deborah Burger, President, California Nurses Association
• Francine Coeytaux, Founder, Pacific Institute for Women's Health
• Mitch Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corporation and President,
Open Source Applications Foundation
• Freada Kapor Klein, Founder, Level Playing Field Institute
• Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves
• Latonya Slack, JD, Executive Director, California Black Women's
Health Project*

Here are some other resources for those who want more depth on Prop 71:


Download this as a file

Commentary by Mitch Kapor, David Winickoff, and other progressives


Download this as a file

California Nurses Association statement


Download this as a file

"Cell divide," San Francisco Bay Guardian


Download this as a file

The majority of California's largest newspapers oppose Proposition 71,
including the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and San
Francisco Bay Guardian.



Download this as a file

The Center's in-depth assessment

*organization for identification purposes only

For information on subscribing and unsubscribing to the CGS email
newsletter Genetic Crossroads, and on changing between enhanced HTML
and plain text formats, go to
http://www.genetics-and-society.org/newsletter.

For information about the Center for Genetics and Society go to
http://www.genetics-and-society.org/about.