Remember when Michael J. Fox supported McCaskill’s Senate race in Missouri in 2006 with a short video about stem cell research? And then endured Rush Limbaugh’s disgustingcharacterization of Parkinson's Disease?
Americans for Cures Foundationis delighted to tell you that Michael J. Fox, actor and founder of Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, will speak at our conference, State of Stem Cell Advocacy 2008 (SOSCA),on April 12-13, UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center.
That’s the good news. Join our people-powered campaign for stem cell advocacy by signing our Pledge to Act. Come to SOSCA. Make funding stem cell therapies a priority for elected officials.
We are leading the fight for cures. Join us.
Americans for Cures Foundation is gearing up a national campaign to gather our voices together. We will accelerate the pace at which the hope of stem cell research becomes a reality for our families and veterans.
The not-so-good news is that the anti-cures movement is mobilizing volunteers and securing cash from the pulpits of the Catholic Church, the "right-to-lifers" and other ideologues.
Why give ordinary Americans a voice in stem cell research? Most of America knows that stem cell technology – human embryonic stem cells (hES), adult stem cells and somatic cell nuclear transfer – could some day provide new therapies for over 70 diseases and conditions that affect 100 million Americans and veterans. Many of these conditions -- diabetes, cystic fibrosis, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – are currently incurable.
Not to mention giving ordinary Americans a voice in pushing back on anti-cures ballot measures. In California, several anti-cures initiatives were filed with the California Attorney Generalin early 2008. If they were to succeed, these initiatives would invalidate Proposition 71 – approved by 59% of California voters in 2004 to authorize $3BN in funding for stem cell research by creating the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine – and ban hES research as "unethical."
Armed with false science and a misleading message, the anti-cures movement has the resources and the will to set back the clock on cures. They recently derailed a stem cell funding ballot measure in New Jersey. Last December, the Michigan Catholic Conference sent a DVD documentary vilifying hES research to over 500,000 families throughout the state.
In other words, regardless of whether we turn the White House blue this November, anti-cures efforts pose a real and growing threat to scientific progress.
We believe that every American family and every American veteran have the right to the best healthcare that this country can provide.
We are leading the fight for cures. Join us.