Despite a well-publicized groundbreaking in October, New Jersey’s planned million-dollar stem cell research center may not be built in the near future, Gov. Jon Corzine told the Newark Star-Ledger.

The Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick was supposed to be the state center for research using stem cells, including those obtained by killing human embryos. However, after voters rejected a ballot initiative in November that would have provided $450 million for the research, state officials have put construction plans on hold.

“I’d like to have a director and I’d like to see what our options are on making sure that New Jersey continues to be the leader, or among the leaders on biotech research—particularly as it relates to stem cells,” Corzine told the Star-Ledger. “And then we’ll work together on our rollout of what our plans are.”

The Commission on Science and Technology first pledged state money toward stem cell research in December 2006. Three of the 17 funded projects, slated to receive about $300,000 over two years, involved embryonic stem cells, the Associated Press reported.

The November 2007 ballot proposal would have expanded the program considerably, with grants of up to $45 million over the next 10 years. The state legislature had already earmarked $270 million to build centers in New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, Belleville, and Allendale that would have housed the research projects, according to the Star-Ledger.

After the voters rejected the initiative, Corzine insisted the main center in New Brunswick would still be built, with the money intended for the other smaller centers to be put toward the research itself, the Star-Ledger reported. However, the newspaper recently discovered that Corzine’s administration had withdrawn last November a proposal to the state’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) that would have provided $3.7 million for the center’s construction. The entire project is now in limbo, according to the Star-Ledger.

Proponents are continuing to seek other funding avenues. Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen (D-Union) has proposed a bill that would allow venture capitalists to invest up to $500 million in stem cell research over five years, according to a news release from the New Jersey Assembly Democrats. The investors would in effect be loaning the money to researchers, and they would receive tax credits if the loan was not repaid or if the project failed, the news release stated.

The news release does indicate that the funding may be restricted to non-destructive forms of stem cell research. “Interested researchers would submit loan applications to EDA, detailing the type of adult or umbilical cord stem cell research to be conducted and the amount of funding requested,” the Democrats stated. However, the actual language in the bill has not been publicly released in order making it impossible to determine whether embryonic stem cell research would also be included in the funding program.

Pro-lifers and other opponents of embryo-destructive research have pledged to continue to fight further funding, and to encourage the state to promote other types of stem cell research. “The sanctity of human life, which begins at conception, is the gift of a loving God,” the New Jersey Catholic Conference said in a 2007 statement. “We support the right to life of unborn children because they are fully human. We oppose experimentation on, and utilization of, unborn children, their tissues, and embryonic stem cells.

“However, we do advocate the use of adult (non-embryonic) stem cells that have been shown to offer promise in the fight to eradicate heartbreaking diseases that are debilitating and life-threatening. Adult (non-embryonic) stem cells come from adult tissue, placentas, or umbilical cord blood and can be retrieved without harming the donor. Adult (non-embryonic) stem cells have helped thousands of patients, and hold much promise for the future.”