Granholm yanks online petition supporting stem cell research
BYLINE: By TIM MARTIN, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: LANSING Mich.
An online petition supporting embryonic stem cell research in Michigan has been pulled from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's official government Web site.
The link to the petition was removed after a Christian-oriented law center sued because Granholm wouldn't allow citizens who oppose the research to post their own petition on the taxpayer-supported, public Web site. But Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Monday the decision to remove the petition came before the suit was filed.
The Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center filed suit Aug. 9 in federal court in Lansing on behalf of the Lansing Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, Flint-Area Right To Life and Right To Life-Lifespan. The groups claim Granholm, using public resources, discriminated against people who oppose embryonic stem cell research.
Granholm wants to lift Michigan's restrictions on the research. The link on her state Web site encouraged citizens to sign a petition asking the state Legislature to pass bills that would lift restrictions on such research.
Law center officials said they made a request for equal access both in writing and through a phone call last month, but did not receive a response.
State law does not permit Michigan researchers to get embryos left over from fertility treatments in the state. State scientists can use embryonic stem cell lines from California, Illinois or other states with less restrictive laws, but those lines sometimes are patented by other researchers.
Supporters say embryonic stem cell research offers the best hope for new treatments and possible cures for diseases including Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries and juvenile diabetes. But opponents say the methods are unethical because they include the destruction of embryos.
In a statement Monday, the law center said the dispute over the Web site isn't over because it has not yet received the Granholm administration's formal response to the lawsuit.
The law center said Granholm's pulling of the Web petition was a step forward, but it also wants a declaration from the governor that the policy violated the constitutional rights of citizens who were denied equal access to the Web site.
Richard Thompson, the law center's president and chief counsel, said in a statement it was "a clear case of discrimination against citizens who are pro-life."
On the Net:
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm: http://www.michigan.gov/gov
Thomas More Law Center: http://www.thomasmore.org