I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Supporters of a proposal to reform Michigan’s stem cell research law turned in 570,016 petition signatures to the Bureau of Elections Monday, placing the issue of embryonic stem cell research one step closer to being decided by Michigan voters. If the secretary of state certifies 380,126 signatures, the matter will be on the ballot this November.
“The results of this petition drive are clear: Michigan voters understand that embryonic stem cell research offers real hope for finding cures for countless patients,” said Larry Owen, chairman of the Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee Board. “This November, Michigan voters can help open the doors to cures that can save lives.”
The proposal, if approved by voters, will allow doctors and researchers to use for medical research embryos from fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded as medical waste.
The Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee Board says the proposal will protect and strengthen Michigan’s ban on human cloning and allow researchers to use ethical means of seeking new cures for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer’s.
Under Michigan law, scientists cannot perform research on leftover embryonic stem cells that are currently discarded every day. The only other states to criminalize this research with laws as restrictive as Michigan’s are Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Louisiana.
“Michigan must modernize our laws and show we welcome research that can save lives,” said Dr. Mel Lester, special assistant to the executive vice president of medical affairs at the University of Michigan and former chairman of the legislative and ethics committees at the Michigan State Medical Society. “Michigan should be a leader in science, not a backwater.”
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