CBS TV-5 (Hayward, CA)
Stem cell research advocates say they’re pleased with a judge’s ruling today upholding the constitutionality of California’s $3 billion voter-approved stem cell effort research program.
Robert Klein, chairman of the board of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, which oversees the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, said, “Today is a victory for stem cell research. We are extremely pleased.”
Dr. Philip Pizzo, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine and a member of the committee, said the decision by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw following a four-day none-jury trial that ended last month “is an extraordinary affirmation for the citizens of California.”
Pizzo said, “This will enable the stem cell agency to carry out critically important research in the most exciting area of biomedical research. We all believe in the years ahead that stem cell research will lead to transformative knowledge about how to repair the human body and restore health.”
During the trial, attorneys for taxpayer organizations and a bioethics group alleged that the lack of direct state control over the finances of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) violates the state constitution.
They said the agency violates California law because it isn’t a true agency and its managers have many conflicts of interest.
But her proposed statement of decision today, Sabraw said the “plaintiffs have not shown that the act is clearly, positively, and unmistakably unconstitutional.”
Sabraw said, “The act and the bonds issued thereunder are valid.”
She also said the plaintiffs haven’t met their burden to obtain any of the declaratory or injunctive relief sought in their complaints.
Lewman’s ruling becomes official in 10 days unless the losing attorneys present new and dramatically different arguments.
They couldn’t be reached for comment today.
Proposition 71, which was approved by 59 percent of California voters who went to the polls in November 2004, calls for allocating $300 million a year in research grants for 10 years.
It created the CIRM, which is based in San Francisco, and its 29-member governing body, the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee.
Backers put Proposition 71 on the ballot as a response to the Bush Administration’s decision to cap federal funding for stem cell research at about $25 million annually and impose strict research guidelines that scientists say limit advances.
President Bush and many other social conservatives oppose some stem cell programs because human embryos are destroyed during research.
Supporters of embryonic stem cell research say embryonic stem cells promise more versatility than adult stem cells and could help people with spinal cord injuries and diseases that include childhood diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The stem cell agency’s finances likely will remain in limbo because appeals of Lewman’s verdict may not be exhausted for 15 to 18 months, Klein said.
However, the agency made its first grants earlier this month backed by $14 million in bond anticipation notes which are paid back once the Wall Street bond market is opened to the agency.
Grants were issued to 16 universities and nonprofit research institutes to set up basic stem cell research training programs.
“Stem cell research in California has officially begun,” Klein said.
Klein described agency opponents as “a small and politically motivated minority.”
He said the suffering of people who have health problems that could be alleviated by stem cell research “is not abated” and “any delay at this point is inexcusable” because he believes Lewman’s ruling is sound and won’t be reversed.
John Simpson, the director of the stem cell project for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said the oversight committee headed by Klein “must use the time during inevitable appeals to implement rules governing ownership of research discoveries that ensure the full public benefit promises of Proposition 71 are met.”
The group describes itself as a non-profit and non-partisan consumer watchdog group.
Simpson said, “The court ruled that the stem cell institute is a state agency. Their challenge now is to truly behave like one. In the court of public opinion, the stem cell institute and the oversight committee have all too often failed that critical test.”
