A break for stem cell research in Missouri

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial board

All the legal quibbling over language means there will be no proposed constitutional amendment concerning stem cell research on Missouri's November ballot.

Whew! I for one was not looking forward to another season of fighting about whether copying cells in a lab dish is the same thing as cloning a human being.

Embryonic stem cell research is legal in Missouri, thanks to the narrow passage of a constitutional amendment in November 2006. Scientific and economic groups sought the amendment because of repeated attempts by Republicans in the Missouri legislature to ban a procedure called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Opponents have vowed to nullify the constitutional amendment, but it won't be this year.

A delay is good news. The somatic cell nuclear transfer process is being studied on a limited basis at the Stowers Institute in Kansas City. It's an intricate, expensive technique and the goal has always been to use it to study the healing properties of stem cells and then move on to more accessible techniques.

By the time opponents gear up for another round of signature gathering--if indeed they ever do--Missourians will get the idea that nothing monstrous is going on in the state's labs. Just a few scientists working on cures. In the best scenario, they'll be able to report progress.

“Image (like a roll of film) that our brain is later left to develop.” Joseph P.Martino

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