Michigan Senate Minority Leader 'embarrassed' by attack on stem cell research

Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) blasted Republican lawmakers on Thursday for threatening to cut funds for the University of Michigan because of its embryonic stem cell research.

"Today for the second time in six months, I rise because I am actually embarrassed by what I see happening here today," she said in a video uploaded to YouTube.

"Republican language added to a one-year higher education budget bill at the last minutes seeks to penalize a world class university doing world class medical research that 2.5 million voters in Michigan explicitly permitted when they adopted Proposition 2 in 2008," Whitmer continued. "This research, mind you, is heralded as the most promising medical advancement ever, and rather than embrace our universities and propel them forward towards cures, you chose to pander to special interest fanatics who seek to handcuff researchers and regress us to the dark ages."

Last year, Republicans added language to the education budget that required the University of Michigan to provide information to the legislature about its stem cell research, according to the Detroit Free Press. The university submitted more than 50 pages of information, but lawmakers said none of those pages contained the information that was requested.

Republican lawmakers have threatened to cut state aid to the university if they fail to properly report information about embryonic stem cells.

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube on April 26, below: