In my time as a columnist for this paper, I have written on a number of occasions about stem cell research, largely focused on embryonic stem cell research and the need for a revision of Michigan’s severe and archaic laws that restrict it. I also have looked at the issue on a national level, such as when I wrote about standing on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C., with 150 diabetic children singing “Promise to Remember Me” on the day before President Bush vetoed the bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act for a second time. Finally, I have written about this topic from a very personal level, detailing my own frustrations and struggles with type 1 diabetes.
In June, I wrote about how Michigan voters have the incredible opportunity this year to do what the state legislature has failed to do and bring Michigan’s laws into line with 45 other states that allow this important research. I am someone with a disease that the medical research community believes will be cured through stem cell research, so it is logical that I would be on this side of the fight. However, I also wear my hat as a public relations graduate student, looking at the campaign the opposition has waged against Proposal 2.
When I last wrote about Proposal 2, I could not have imagined the disgusting lengths to which the opposition would go to fight it. In my studies, every PR course and lesson has involved a discussion of ethics, values and morals. The Public Relations Society of America holds as a principle that for the profession to be taken seriously, it must adhere to the highest of ethical standards.
Thus, when David Doyle emerged as the spokesperson for MiCAUSE, the group opposed to Proposal 2, and a respected, conservative colleague of mine referred to Doyle as “a hero” of hers, I felt slightly optimistic that the other side might have hired someone who would engage in only an honest campaign, devoid of lies and misleading words. How wrong I was.
The group fighting Proposal 2 has framed its argument in a number of different ways, none of which reflect its real opposition to the proposal, which is more clearly seen by taking a look at their two big bankrollers: the Michigan Catholic Conference and Right to Life. Instead, they have argued against Proposal 2 with absurd fear-mongering, outright lies and a demeanor devoid of any compassion for those whose lives depend on the cures that stem cell research has the potential to deliver.
First, they advertised Proposal 2 would cost taxpayers in Michigan millions of dollars, a lie even a casual review of the text of the proposal reveals, as it does not involve a single penny of taxpayer money. Their next advertisement made the absurd claim that passage of Proposal 2 would lead to the creation of embryo harvesting and a cloning industry in Michigan. This argument is ridiculous, as is the fact that the proposal specifically bans the buying and selling of embryos.
The central message of the opposition has been that the proposal “goes too far” and allows for unrestricted research. This is a misguided argument as well: The proposal allows for only ethical research with strong federal oversight, as is currently permitted in almost every other state in the nation.
Their most recent effort has been widely condemned as the most disgusting and morally reprehensible. In this advertisement, the group aims to connect embryonic stem cell research to a horrible long-term study that a federal entity conducted on syphilis in mostly black, low-income men through 1972. There is no merit to this claim, but the group is using this ad to scare African Americans in particular from voting for Proposal 2.
Thus, I wish to close this final pre-election column on this topic with one last plea. Everyone knows somebody affected by a condition that stem cell research holds the greatest promise for curing or treating. When you enter the voting booth, keep those people in mind and see through the noise and lies that the other side is generating. With a “yes” vote for Proposal 2, you can give greater hope for a cure to thousands of people in Michigan.
Ryan Dinkgrave is a State News columnist and a public relations graduate student. Reach him at dinkgrave@gmail.com.
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