In a recent press release, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) reported that on May 17, 2007, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission completed its evaluation of 86 grant applications received for allocations under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund. The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission was created in 2006 after the General Assembly and Governor Ehrlich approved a $15 million designation in the budget for fiscal year 2007 to be used for stem cell research. The Commission is an independent entity functioning within TEDCO for the purpose of evaluating and awarding the state funds for stem cell research.

Both embryonic stem cell research and non-embryonic (i.e., adult) stem cell research are eligible under the current law to obtain funding. Among the 24 projects that have been chosen to receive the 2007 state funds, many require the use of human embryonic stem cells, which can only be obtained at this time through the destruction of the human embryo itself. Maryland Right to Life President Angela Martin issued the following statement in response to this development:

Maryland Right to Life is disappointed to see that the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission has opted to fund proposals that require the destruction of human life. Whether these experiments will come to exhibit their alleged capacity to develop any cures remains to be seen—the only “promise” that these experiments will definitely deliver in the course of their execution is the death of innocent human beings.

Maryland Right to Life has no problem with stem cell research that does not require the destruction of human embryos. Non-embryonic stem cell research has developed over 70 therapies to date, and we applaud these successes. We reject however, the notion that any medical breakthrough is worth the cost of human lives, and thus we reject embryonic stem cell research. We also find it abhorrent that taxpayers in Maryland now are being forced to pay for the destruction of human embryos for research.

Maryland Right to Life is the Maryland affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest pro-life organization with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 chapters nationwide. Maryland Right to Life abhors and denounces violence in all forms. It works through legislative action and education to protect those lives threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and human embryonic research. The mission of the Maryland Right to Life Foundation is to present detailed, factual information that will enable the general public to make informed decisions about abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, and other life issues.