California Stem Cell Proposition 71 Upheld After Appeal - Tuesday February 27, 2007 - Dustin R. Wakeman
The
California Appellate Court ruled in favor of the constitutionality of
Proposition 71 today, upholding a previous court's ruling and marking a
grueling victory for California stem cell scientists. The favorable
ruling comes just days after CIRM announced the recipiets of its first
round of SEED grants, marking the first funding to actualize from
Proposition 71 passed in late 2004. Aptly named for the late
Alzheimer's researcher Leon Thal, these grants were intended for
outstanding young investigators beginning new research utilizing
embryonic stem cells. In an affirmative stement, the California Court
of Appeal ruled unanimously yesterday that: […the objective of the
proposition is to find, "as speedily as possible," therapies for the
treatment and cure of major diseases and injuries, an aim the
legitimacy of which no one disputes. The very pendency of this
litigation, however, has interfered with implementation for more than
two years. After careful consideration of all of appellants’ legal
objections, we have no hesitation in concluding, in the exercise of
"our solemn duty to jealously guard the precious initiative power…,"
that Proposition 71 suffers from no constitutional or other legal
infirmity. Accordingly, we shall affirm the well-reasoned decision of
the trial court upholding the validity of the initiative (Excerpt from
CIRM)]. Read the official CIRM press release (below).
