It has been five years since the stem cell debate got underway in the New Jersey legislature. The conversation that evolved over the years has been markedly complex, fueled by highly technical language, theoretical science and political gamesmanship.

On Nov. 6, we the people finally get our say.

We'll get to vote on a $450 million bonding referendum which, if approved, will earmark millions of dollars for embryonic stem cell research. The state of NJ is poised to invest heavily in this research, in hopes that it will provide cures for a variety of diseases.

Due to the high stakes involved, much of the stem cell rhetoric is highly emotional. Proponents of embryonic stem cell research would have us believe it's the last best hope for medical cures, no matter how costly or long-term that process may be. They down-play and even dismiss the substantial successes of adult stem cell research, which employs stem cells from living persons, from umbilical cord blood and placentas.

Adult stem cell treatments, which rarely lead to rejection by the recipient, have produced many successful medical therapies with many more in the developmental pipeline. Meanwhile, even the most disingenuous supporters of embryonic stem cell research admit the magic bullet people long for is years down the road, if indeed it ever comes at all.

An acquaintance of mine, Thomas Lorenc would like some help now or at least in the next few years. A quadriplegic with a C-4 level spinal cord injury, he has limited use of his hands and legs and gets around by way of a wheel chair. Lorenc has made a study of stem cell issues and he's convinced his chances for improvement will come with adult stem cell research.

Lorenc, who speaks out on the issue at every opportunity, is chagrined by the celebrity fascination with embryonic research. He fears putting a superstar face on it may have captivated the public at large. This false hope could result in a significant drain of funds away from adult stem cell research, which has already yielded treatments to benefit patients with cancer, immune deficiencies, juvenile diabetes, and spinal injuries, just to name a few. As far as he's concerned, the hype surrounding the "ephemeral hope" of embryonic research is a dangerous distraction. I fear he is right.

Opponents of the bond issue offer another compelling argument. Why should the State of NJ, already in overwhelming debt, take on this experiment? Why not leave the funding of all stem cell research to private industry, avoiding the heavy front-end costs that necessarily exist in experimental research.

I will be the first to agree that you can't put a price tag on the value of a human life, and that we should do everything possible to alleviate disease and human suffering. But you cannot convince me that it is a greater good to permit the destruction of one human life to save another human life. How can the good people of New Jersey condone research that will sacrifice the lives of unborn children for any purpose?

There is a parallel that has been drawn between the human embryo and an eagle's egg. The eagle's egg is protected from harm by law, on the premise that an eagle is developing, even though you cannot be sure that a healthy, fully viable eagle will emerge. Our society affords no such protection to the human baby in development. The human embryo is even considered disposable in the eyes of some persons. Should not a developing human person be more valued by our society than the eagle's offspring?

As compassionate reasoning citizens, we must vote no on referendum question # 2.

Our legislators, however, are quite convinced that they have the support of the populace. Never was this more evident than at the recent ground breaking ceremony for the New Jersey Stem Cell Institute. With two full weeks to go before the referendum asking voters whether the institute should be funded, the governor and legislative backers hoisted shovels and began digging us into a moral, ethical and economic dilemma of grave proportions.

Proponents of Question 2 urge us to enter an abyss of experimentation fueled by the most vulnerable of our own kind – developing human beings. Let's step back from that abyss and choose life for everyone.