With the passage of a $3-billion stem cell bond measure, California moves into uncharted territory, becoming the first state to create a massive program to fund a single field of scientific research.
The approval of billions in new state spending -- a tough sell even when the state is not deeply in debt -- was a sign of Californians' deeply rooted optimism about science, said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.
"It's a combination of sympathy for people with illness and the spirit of the space program," Pitney said. "This is a massive application of American know-how and marks the belief that we can reach the next frontier."
The decision to put the state in the forefront of embryonic stem cell research took on added significance with the reelection of President Bush and the gains made by Republicans in both houses of Congress.
The Republican victories will, at minimum, probably lock in place current federal restrictions on funds for embryonic stem cell research.
California's Proposition 71, which won 59% of the vote, was designed to repudiate Bush's decision three years ago to greatly restrict the use of federal money for embryonic stem cell research.
The research is controversial because the stem cells -- which can become any type of cell in the body -- are derived from human embryos that are destroyed in the process.
In addition to restricting federal money, Bush has twice backed measures in Congress that would have criminalized one type of embryonic stem cell research.
The bills, which have been blocked in the Senate, would impose prison sentences of 10 years and fines of $1 million for any type of cloning using human cells, including procedures that research advocates call therapeutic cloning.
Proposition 71 specifically earmarked money for therapeutic cloning, in which the DNA of an unfertilized egg is replaced with the DNA of an individual, producing stem cells that are a genetic match with the donor.
Researchers hope that cloned stem cells might allow scientists to study how diseases such as Alzheimer's develop. The work might also lead to treatments that would not be rejected by a patient's immune system.
Supporters of embryonic stem cell research said Wednesday that, despite the Republican gains in the Senate, they believe they have the votes to continue blocking any federal ban. They hope that if the California research effort leads to breakthroughs, political opposition will wane.
