Ad watch: Proponents focus on the hope
Description:
In a 30-second television spot launched Monday, two parents, Tom and Lyn Shea of Medway, talk of the promise of stem cell research. The ad is sponsored by the Committee for a Better Commonwealth, a nonprofit formed by Democratic businessman Chris Gabrieli, and attacks Governor Mitt Romney for his opposition to proposed stem cell legislation. There is also a 60-second version of the ad.
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''Diabetes is 24-7, 365 days a year. It's always there. You can't turn it off. Stem cell research could be the answer. I believe stem cells offer tremendous hope. It is very important for the state of Massachusetts to pass this bill, because I believe it can help people like my kids. The promise of stem cell research means a cure for my children."
Is it accurate?
The ad implies that stem cell research will cure diabetes and perhaps other diseases, but it is impossible to know whether that will happen. While many scientists consider stem cell research particularly promising, it is only one of many avenues of research, and nobody can predict where it will lead. Although the parents speak of the need for ''stem cell research" in general, the governor supports most types of stem cell research. He opposes a form of embryonic stem cell research in which scientists create cloned human embryos, using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Scientists say that this will allow them to study diseases in important new ways; Romney says that the creation of embryos for this purpose crosses a moral line.
Is it effective?
The ad avoids the specific issue at the center of the current debate, whether to allow scientists to clone human cells and instead focuses on stem cell research more generally. A Globe poll earlier this month found broad support for embryonic stem cell research, but found that 46 percent of those polled opposed stem cell research using human cells cloned in a laboratory. By showcasing the plight of one family, the ad frames the stem cell debate as an issue of helping suffering patients.
GARETH COOK
