As the governor gets ready to deliver his budget address, one pro-life group has a prediction.
Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life , says she wouldn't be surprised if, during tonight's Budget Address, Governor Jim Doyle asked for even more money to spend on embryonic stem cell research. “It's likely that the governor will announce even more expenditures for embryonic stem cell research. I don't think there's enough money in the world for him. I often stated that if he could sell the state capitol and put the money toward embryonic stem cell research he would do it.”
Doyle is a strong advocate of embryonic stem cell research, and reiterated his commitment between research leaders in Wisconsin and officials in the U.K. Embryonic stem cell pioneer James Thomson recently said, although progress is doable, actual breakthroughs could be decades away. But, Lyons says Doyle just can't seem to get enough money to spend on something that's not yet been proven to work. “He is truly obsessed with it. He wants enough money as possible to be put into it, and it would be surprising if he did not include more funding for embryonic stem cell research in his budget.”
Carl Gulbrandsen, president of WiCell Research Institute , says without the governor's adamant support of embryonic stem cell research, the UW-Madison and WiCell would not continue to be a world leader in such research.