Voters in Michigan appeared on the verge of endorsing a proposal to allow researchers to use discarded embryos from fertility clinics to devise new embryonic stem cell lines. The proposal had been fiercely contested by the state's Catholic hierarchy and right-to-life groups. With 87 percent of the votes counted, though, the initiative was winning 52-48.
The argument over the future of ESCs in disease research dominated much of the discussion. Opponents of the initiative noted that the use of reprogrammed adult stem cells was making any use of ESCs unnecessary. But proponents argued that a better understanding of ESCs is needed as new work on adult stem cells advances.
- read the report from the Detroit Free