Join Michigan's Fight for Cures

[rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>]

DON REED HAS SUPPLIED INFO AND AN IMPORTANT SITE FOR FIGHTING FOR CURES. 
WON'T YOU JOIN US BY DONATING FINANCIALLY, SIGNING PETITION, AND OTHER WAYS 
YOU CAN HELP? APPARENTLY MICHIGAN IS THE ONLY STATE IN THE UNION THAT IS 
TAKING PROACTIVE STEPS TO CURE DISEASE:
Ray

BATTLE IN THE WOLVERINE STATE: Michigan's Fight for Cures by Don C. Reed

One of Earth's toughest life forms is the wolverine, Michigan's state 
animal.
The 40-pound king of weasels is territorial and aggressive, challenging far 
larger predators, even driving a wolf or a 600 pound black bear off its 
kill-which encounters can be verified by a quick visit to YouTube. 
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VoKioxH-5Q&feature=related)
But a wolverine is gentleness itself compared to a parent fighting for their 
child.

How shall I feel, if someone says:  "Sorry, your paralyzed child must remain 
in his wheelchair, because a cure would interfere with our group's religious 
philosophy"--?
I do not care about person's private beliefs: they are none of my business; 
he or she may believe the moon is made of green cheese if they wish. But 
when ideology crosses the line into public policy-when religious beliefs 
block my son's hopes of cure-- then we have a problem.

In Michigan today, laws are cripplingly prejudiced against research.
I suggest we do something about that.
In the whole country, to the best of my knowledge, there is only one 
pro-embryonic stem cell research measure headed for the ballot this 
November-in Michigan, the state which has been called the most "pro-life" in 
the Union.

Personally, I am very much pro-life-meaning I support the living, feeling 
their rights outweigh the civil liberties of microscopic dots of tissue in a 
Petri dish.
But "pro-life" in politics unfortunately generally means anti-research, and 
that is the case in Michigan today.

Michigan's current laws are fully approved by the religious right. The 
opposition to research is dominated by the Catholic Church, which, despite 
official pleas of poverty, is the largest property-owner in the world. The 
Michigan Catholic Conference, for example, has already produced an 
anti-embryonic stem cell research CD-- and has mailed out half a million 
(503,000) copies of it, to every Catholic family in the state.

On the other hand, many Catholics (like my family) enthusiastically support 
the research: did you know that across the country 72% of American Catholics 
support embryonic stem cell research? Check out the national study done by 
Beldon Russonello and Stewart, 
(http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/politics/documents/2004catholicvotepoll.pdf 
) which includes the following statement:
"A large majority of Catholic voters (72%) supports allowing scientists to 
use stem cells obtained from very early human embryos to find cures for 
serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, and Parkinson's."  These 
Catholics must be heard, as well as Protestants, Jewish folks, and those who 
(like myself) may consider their values spiritual, but are not interested in 
organized religion.

Unfortunately, although pro-research folks are a majority, the anti-research 
folks get the organization and leadership on a weekly basis.

The odds are against us.But we can win.

All who support research must know about the CureMichigan campaign, now 
trying to put a pro-research measure on the ballot.

(I wish to emphasize that this column is my personal opinion; I support the 
CureMichigan campaign, enthusiastically: but these are my words, not 
theirs.)

To qualify for a November vote, the CureMichigan campaign folks (almost 
entirely volunteers) must gather 380,126 valid signatures, and bring them to 
the Secretary of State before July 7th.  Anyone who has gathered signatures 
can vouch there will be errors made-so the actual number needed will be 
about half a million-the same number already reached by the opposition.
It is a tough fight.
The hard work will be done by Michiganders. They are the ones who will be 
standing on street corners, enduring the rudeness of the opposition, who are 
not famous for their manners. Apparently their faith does not require them 
to be courteous.

We as outsiders can only cheer them on-and help financially. I know, I 
know-but do it anyway-every little bit helps. Click below, and give them a 
couple bucks, like I did.
I contributed $25, big spender, huh?
www.CureMichigan.com.

Remember, if they win, we win. Michigan has three outstanding universities; 
they must be free to work on research for cure. What if the cure for the 
disease or disability which affects your loved one was found in Michigan-or 
not?

In the next ten weeks, people like you and me will be standing on street 
corners, collecting signatures for an initiative to overturn Michigan's 
current cripplingly anti-research restrictions.

If this is indeed the only pro embryonic stem cell research proposal across 
the country be on a ballot this November, the campaign could escalate from a 
quiet Midwestern election to a battle on a national stage. It is critical 
for allies of cure research to unite and do  whatever we can to support 
Michigan's efforts.

Michigan is one of the five most restrictive states in the nation when it 
comes to embryonic stem cell research, along with Arkansas, North and South 
Dakota and Louisiana. Current law there actually criminalizes somatic cell 
nuclear transfer with a punishment of 15 years and a $10M civil fine.

Bearing this in mind, Michigan has modeled their ballot proposal language 
after HR 810, the widely supported Castle-DeGette bill.

The CureMichigan campaign is now collecting signatures across the state. 
Signature collection began in earnest in March, deploying volunteers 
statewide to gather marks of support. Their goal for submission is over 
500,000 signatures.

CureMichigan has seen remarkable success thus far, with limited resources 
but plentiful volunteers. With only ten weeks left before submission, 
petition circulators are volunteering all hours to meet their goals. 
Petition circulation and volunteer coordination on a statewide scale is an 
expensive endeavor. Please visit www.CureMichigan.com to find out how you 
can help.

As one friend of the research put it, "Our families, friends and neighbors 
deserve nothing less than the best medical treatments available."

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
rbrown@xxxxxxxxx

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