Читать книгу The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research - Группа авторов - Страница 266

In 2001, as a Republican strongly opposed to abortion, President George W. Bush handed down major restrictions on using federal funds to conduct stem cell research. In response, a California coalition that included Hollywood producers, actors, scientists, 22 Nobel laureates, 50 patent advocacy groups, private foundations such as the Christopher Reeve Foundation and Michael J. Fox Foundation, technology giants such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google inventor John Doerr, and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, real estate developer Robert Klein II, and Republican millionaire Thomas Coleman began lobbying for the right of California voters to decide for themselves whether the state should allot funds for stem cell research. Supporters argued that Proposition 71 would not only improve the economy by creating new jobs and bringing new taxpayers to California but would ultimately make health care more affordable within the state. Voters overwhelmingly supported the measure, paving the way for California to become a global center for stem cell research. A major feature of Proposition 71 was the establishment of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Opposition to the measure was spearheaded by conservatives and the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately after passage of Proposition 71, critics of the measure began filing lawsuits in the hope that they could delay action long enough to completely block state funding for stem cell research. However, local philanthropists stepped in with loans and grants. Irwin Jacobs, the founder of Qualcomm, and John Moores, the owner of the San Diego Padres, issued $45 million in loans, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, earmarked $150 million in state loans to get CIRM in operation.