After a hard fought battle between pro-life advocates and so-called "disease activists," the "California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act" initiative has qualified for the November 2 ballot in California.

The initiative, which is vigorously opposed by the Catholic Church, would create a state-taxpayer funded Institute to support embryonic stem cell research "for the development of life-saving regenerative medical treatments and cures."

Proponents of the initiative claim that embryonic stem cells hold the promise of new treatments or cures for diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, HIV/AIDS and more than 70 other diseases and conditions that affect millions of people in California.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who watched President Reagan suffer from the effects of Alzheimer's disease, has said of stem cell research, "Science has presented us with a hope called stem-cell research, which may provide our scientists with answers that have long been beyond our grasp. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this when there are just so many diseases that can be cured, or at least helped. We have lost so much time already, and I just can't bear to lose anymore."

But opponents of the measure say that the groups in favor of the bill are obscuring the real meaning of the legislation with overly scientific and misleading wording.

"The group promoting the initiative uses misleading 'facts' and neglects to mention embryos or embryonic stem cells or cloning other than 'reproductive' cloning," noted a statement from the California Catholic Conference. "That may be because the initiative itself does not mention those words, but instead uses 'progenitor cells' to identify embryos and 'somatic cell nuclear transfer' to describe cloning when the cloned embryo will be destroyed for research."

"The law is devious and deceptive; it states that no reproductive cloning will be allowed because they know that the majority of Californians are against cloning," explained Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, a stem-cell researcher and clinical professor at USC. "But the law allows therapeutic cloning using the term 'somatic cell transfer' which is, by definition, cloning."

Reproductive cloning produces a human baby while therapeutic cloning "kills the embryo before it is born," Dr. Fortanasce told the Tidings.

The Catholic Church does not oppose scientific research on adult stem cells or blood cord cells because the donor of the stem cells is not destroyed. But the church does object to the use of embryonic stem cells or cloned cells because the donor embryo or clone are destroyed by extracting the stem cells; this contradicts the church's pro-life teaching.

In April California bishops voted to oppose the initiative, citing the 1994 encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" in which Pope John Paul II wrote, "Human life is sacred and inviolable at every moment of existence, including the initial phase, which precedes birth. All human beings belong to God who searches and knows them, who forms them and knits them together with his own hands, who gazes on them when they are tiny shapeless embryos and already sees in them adults of tomorrow whose days are numbered and whose vocation is even now written in the 'book of life.'"

The problems with the bill stem from more than just moral issues, noted Dr. Fortanasce.

"The bill will simply line the pockets of the biotech industries while taking money out of the taxpayers' hands with little oversight," he said. "The biotech companies and large research institutions will control the share of the money while smaller institutions like the City of Hope and Cedars Sinai Medical Center who have done good research with adult stem cells will see little of the funds."

The measure calls for more than $3 billion in taxpayer funded bonds over a ten-year period to be distributed according to a 29-member citizens oversight commission appointed by the governor and top Sacramento lawmakers. Priority would be given to stem cell research, such as therapeutic cloning, not likely to qualify for federal funding.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not yet taken a stand on the measure, and his office had not returned calls at press time.