The group received more than 570,000 petition signatures, a record number in Michigan’s history for a single issue, Owen said.

However, David Doyle, spokesman for Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation, said that this proposal is deceptive and was drafted to intentionally mislead voters.

“Stem cell research has been going on in Michigan for years,” Doyle said. “If the proposal is passed, it will allow for unregulated, unrestricted and experimentation on human embryos.”

Currently, excess embryos from procedures such as in-vitro fertilization are discarded as medical waste. If the proposal is passed, however, people will be given a choice to donate their excess embryos for research.

“Due to our state’s law we have to throw (embryos) in the trash can,” Owen said. “Now we are giving voters a chance to decided if they want to keep throwing them away, or use them to save lives.”

Saving lives is one aspect of stem cell research that MSU graduate student, Dave Gobben, said needs to be further explored.

“I think (doing research) is a good idea, and it is an area that has a lot of potential,” Gobben said.

Human cloning is another issue brought up with stem cell research – something Doyle said also concerns him.

“Although (the proposal) states that it will not alter the current law that bans human cloning, several bills involving cloning have already been introduced in the Michigan Legislature,” Doyle said. “We want people to read the fine print, and realize if this proposal is passed, it will also permit the legalization of human cloning.”

For this reason, East Lansing resident Clara Smith said she does not approve of stem cell research and said she is disappointed it is now on the ballot.

“I think it’s just like abortion,” Smith said. “It’s killing something that is a living thing just so we can use it for medical studies I think that’s just wrong.”

Jim Potchen, chairman of MSU’s Department of Radiology said the proposal has no intentions of legalizing human cloning, and will be used to conduct research for the treatment and cure for diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“This is an enormous potential resource that can make a great deal of difference to a lot of diseases we now term as incurable,” Potchen said. “Cloning is irrational, but it is equally irrational to throw embryos away.”