Legislation that would provide funding for stem cell research in Maryland where the federal government has refused to do so is advancing in the House of Delegates, having cleared several Republican-backed attempts to water it down.
This Baltimore Sun has the scoop.
In debate there were a lot of personal anecdotes with regards to the process, stories about conditions which this important research may shed light upon...
read here for more.
The bad news...The Maryland Senate is one of the few state legislative chambers that enables filibustering, and it appears that there may not be enough votes to get this bill through that body, at least in anything resembling its current form.
The fact remains, though, that this is a terrific wedge issue in Maryland and other "Blue" states that can be used against Republican governors since those governors will have to choose between the general will of the public and their religious conservative base. In the specific case of Maryland, there is also the presence of a large biotechnology industry (centered in affleunt and vote-rich Montgomery County) to consider. It's unfortunate that there is a gap that the state governments will need to fill concerning important medical research that may not reap private profits in the short term, but that will be the case as long as right-wing ideologues hold the reins of power in Washington.
Presumptive GOP Senate nominee Michael Steele (the current Lt. Governor) has gone on record in opposing these efforts. He's going to pay a political price for that, especially given that he tastelessly conflated embryonic stem cell research with the Holocaust, in a common that probably had more to do with his dramatic drop in Senate polls than anything else. Anti-abortion sentiment isn't strong in the Old Line State to begin with, and even many pro-lifers (in Maryland and elsewhere) part company with the greater movement when it comes to embryonic stem cell research.
As far as I know, Governor Ehrlich hasn't taken a position on the legislation. It seems that the GOP delegation is taking the same dubious tack - that the small number of existing adult stem cell lines will be sufficient for research purposes - that the Bush administation did when it tried to address the issue.
There are enough Republicans in the Senate who would likely back down if Ehrlich called them off. But he's not going to do that unless his feet are held to the fire on this issue. If he's going to be joining Steele in his open opposition to embryonic stem cell research, he shouldn't be able to hide behind some parliamentary maneuvering to give him plausible deniability. Either he's going to help play a role in chasing the stem cell research to other states (or overseas) or he isn't.