Mo. Groups Propose Stem Cell Amendment

[deadparrot]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A coalition of researchers and patients groups proposed a constitutional amendment Tuesday to protect stem cell research in Missouri, where anti-abortion activists have tried to outlaw a particular type of research they say amounts to the taking of a human life.

Supporters of the amendment must gather at least 139,181 petition signatures from voters to get the measure on the November 2006 ballot. Anti-abortion groups want to "criminalize some of the most promising types of stem cell research," coalition chairman Donn Rubin said.

The coalition claimed its proposal was the first in the nation to protect patients' rights to be treated with any eventual stem cell-related cures. It would specify that stem cell research, therapies and cures allowed under federal law also are permitted in Missouri.

The coalition was formed in response to anti-abortion groups' efforts to ban a certain type of stem cell research, called somatic cell nuclear transfer. The procedure, also known as "therapeutic cloning," uses human eggs specifically for research, harvesting stem cells from them that researchers hope to use to develop cures for a variety of illnesses.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051011/ap_on_re_us/stem_cells

[ceile]

1. In MO?

I'm surprised they got that many sigs!