California State Senator Shelia Kuehl's Leadership in Stem Cell Debate Praised and 'Embryonic Stem Cell Profiteers' Criticized

Release date: 10/8/2008

by Repair Stem Cell Institute Spokesman

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- "California State Senator Shelia Kuehl's leadership role in Senate Bill (SB) 1565 is strong action by a prominent Democrat to bring 'adult stem cell' research to the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) as the viable and credible life science that it is," stated Don Margolis, Chairman of The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI; www.RepairStemCells.org), a public service company devoted to educating the public about adult stem cell research and treatments worldwide.

"Adult stem cells are now the 'gold standard' and the only stem cells which have any chance to help people in the next decade," declared Margolis. "But embryonic profiteers and their biotech lobby have politically influenced CIRM, creating a taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell corporate 'welfare' program that hasn't produced even one possible medical treatment. In fact, because they have no viable path to any embryonic stem cell cures, CIRM has already thrown away $271 million of its $3 billion fund to help finance construction of expensive biotech research facilities for the very institutions which have failed to find a way to implant embryonic cells into humans, or even animals for that matter. And now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed Senator Kuehl's legislation which may have led to adult stem cell research, thus delaying access to long-proven safe and effective therapies for people suffering with 100+ diseases."

According to Margolis, "The only good news out of this situation is that a Democratic leader from the largest state in the union has stood up to the powerful embryonic stem cell lobby and taken a valiant stand for citizens. Senator Kuehl must have done her research about adult stem cells. She may have checked the U.S. Government website (www.clinicaltrials.gov) and found for herself a list of over 2000 clinical trials, most of which are already implanting adult stem cells into humans for specific diseases such as cancer, heart, diabetes and others. She most likely saw that embryonic stem cell clinical trials are in the single digits with no human and no diseases involved. Or perhaps, Senator Kuehl and her fellow Democrat legislators visited Stem Cell Treatment Center for RSCI's comprehensive listing of stem cell treatment centers and doctors/researchers meeting the Institute's 'Standards of Excellence' and are collectively treating 100+ medical conditions."

Margolis had one last word for Gov. Schwarzenegger: "You defended your veto last week by claiming that California voters originally supported only embryonic stem cell research. That's just not true, Governor. They voted for Proposition 71, which specifically included 'adult stem cells'. Read the law, Governor!"

About the Repair Stem Cell Institute

The Repair Stem Cell Institute LLC (RSCI) is a global public service firm dedicated to educating the public about repair stem cell/adult stem cell research and treatments worldwide. RSCI was founded in April 2008 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand with offices in Dallas, Texas and Washington, D.C.