Abstract
As the public debate over stem cell research continues, the observable voting behaviour in Switzerland offers a unique opportunity to compare the voting behaviour of politicians with that of voters. By analysing the outcomes of a referendum on a liberal new bill regulating such research, we reveal an about 10 percentage point lower conditional probability of the bill being accepted by politicians than by voters. Whereas the behaviour of politicians is driven almost entirely by party affiliation, citizen votes are driven not only by party attachment but also by church attendance. Seldom or never attending church increases the probability of bill acceptance by over 15 percentage points, while supporting the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party instead of the Christian Democratic Party makes supporting the bill more likely for voters, suggesting that religious observance is important. The observance of these tendencies in Switzerland—an environment that promotes discussion through direct democratic rights—strongly suggests that citizens see the benefits of stem cell research.
Highlights
Stem-cell research has experienced an explosion of activity since the 1998 isolation of human embryonic stem cells [1], such research has been accompanied by a heated and bitter public debate around which the media have structured their coverage of the issue [2]
Opponents stress that embryos are human life and scientists should not be allowed to play God, while proponents emphasize the societal and therapeutic benefits of stem cell research [9]
Since the 2004 transplant of such cells into a woman with eye disease, hopes attached to the use of iPS cells to repair damaged or diseased tissues have been increasing [15]. Today, such iPS cell usage is seen as a new route to research implementing human embryonic stem cells [16], and a recent survey of 26 hospital patients indicated a generally positive and supportive attitude towards donation of biological material for iPS research [17]
Summary
Stem-cell research has experienced an explosion of activity since the 1998 isolation of human embryonic stem cells [1], such research has been accompanied by a heated and bitter public debate around which the media have structured their coverage of the issue [2]. The U.S has been leading human embryonic stem cell research since 1998, with scientists performing well despite restrictive Bush policies [7,8]. Several leading researchers have criticized the White House Domestic Policy Council report Advancing Stem Cell Science Without Destroying Human Life on the grounds that it misrepresented their work in an attempt to influence the cell debate in Congress [10]. Delaying plans to begin human embryonic stem cell research or developing new projects, impeding ongoing research, limiting future funding opportunities, transitioning away or reducing that kind of research, disrupting long-term planning, adopting suboptimal research design, disrupting collaborations, and even considering relocation are key factors that were mentioned due to ongoing policy uncertainty [6]
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