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#253 Monday, November 13, 2006 - STEM CELL RESEARCH: What We Won, What We Need I watched the election returns with a bunch of rowdy stem cell supporters; we were all yelling and hollering-- it was like the Super Bowl for us. Overall, our side won big-time. In California, the top nine elected officials were all strong stem cell research supporters. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Attorney General Jerry Brown, State Controller John Chiang, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and U.S. Representative Fortney "Pete" Stark. (Senator Barbara Boxer was not due for election yet-but she is always first and foremost when it comes to fighting for the research too.) Many faced virulent opponents of the research; but they won. In Wisconsin, Governor Jim Doyle, staunch stem cell man, was re-elected for another term. Elliot Spitzer became Governor of New York, and we remembered his billion dollar pledge for stem cell research. But the most terrible pain of the long evening? The anguish when McCaskill of Missouri's numbers came across the screen. At first she was ahead; then Claire-our Claire-- slipped back. When I left around midnight, I was more disappointed than I can express. More than any single election, I wanted Claire McCaskill to win. No one had put her heart and soul into supporting the research like she did. She did not hesitate-she did not equivocate-she just went all the way for us. I remember Jim Talent took about three months to try and figure out where he stood on the research in general and Amendment 2 in particular (he eventually opposed the Amendment, opposed Brownback's anti-everything position, which took some guts on his part, and supported the cell-extraction method)-Claire McCaskill said, "I can tell you my position in three words: I'm for it." And now, she had lost? I drove home in a numb fog of exhaustion and despair. In Missouri, according to friend Jeff Eisen, the opponents of the research were ecstatic. They were celebrating. They had a cake, so big it had to be rolled out on wheels. And they were eating it, getting ready to go home. It is my understanding (and I have no statistics to prove this yet) that both tobacco and big oil companies donated money to the anti-research crowd. Why? Because a strong conservative turnout would help them. And then, somebody looked at the screen. As for me, when I got home, I was going straight to bed. The news was good, I told myself, can't expect to win everything. And then I figured, hey, go all the way, one way or the other. Find out every grim detail. I turned on the TV, plunked myself down on the couch. And there she was. The announcer was just saying, "we now project: Claire McCaskill is the next U.S. Senator from Missouri." And Amendment 2? Despite all the trash the opposition threw Amendment 2 pulled through. Later, Missouri friend Jeff Eisen told me, the supporters had not been particularly worried. Turns out they knew exactly the percentages that had to be won in each districts, and the pro-research districts had just not been heard from when I drove home. There will be huge consequences to that simple declaration that stem cell research which is allowable in America would also be permitted in Missouri. It meant that a tremendous new medical institute-- a stem cell research institute-would be established in the Show Me state. A Bible Belt state could become an international stem cell research center. And more and more good news-primarily provided by Michael J. Fox. Many people fought for us. But in this election, November, 2006, no single individual had more impact than Michael J. Fox. Some day I want to meet him, and shake his hand, and say thank you. So, now what? Is it all done, and we can retire to our normal lives? Well. There are maybe one or two more little chores in need of our attention. Pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. We did this before, we can do it again. This time, let's try for 100%, on both sides of the aisle. Then we don't have to worry about a certain individual's stubbornness. Clarify or discard the Dickey-Wicker Amendment Act. This Amendment says that no federal funding shall ever be allowed for any research which destroys an embryo. It has to be renewed every year. We know that billions of embryos pass unnoticed from women's bodies every month, and no one mourns. Should not the hope of saving lives and easing suffering for full-grown humans entitle researchers to duplicate this natural procedure, as is done in fertility clinics every day? Or, if that prospect is too awful to contemplate, then at very least we must have official recognition of a simple fact-that the product of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer is not a sacred embryo, having neither any sperm, nor any hope of implantation. But one way or another, we need to increase the availability of stem cell lines, both for the hoped for individual medical treatments (the ultimate), and the more immediate benefits of making medicines affordable again, by being able to test new drugs on stem cells, rather than endless animal trials for every new drug that comes along: we can eliminate many, if not most, and save almost unimaginable amounts of money. Increase funding for the National Institutes of Health. The current path to diminish the money we spend trying to heal people while flooding cash into death and destruction must end. Those are reasonable goals, I think. Good luck to us all! Don C. Reed, Chair, Californians for Cures, www.stemcellbattles.com. 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