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Stem Cell Movement Faces Setbacks in Mo.
Some amendment supporters insist the stem cell movement is still moving forward.
"There's no question that Missouri is better off today than it was prior to the November election," said Connie Farrow, spokeswoman for the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which supports the measure.
  The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is seen beyond a sculpture titled "Hope for Life," Tuesday, July 17, 2007, in Kansas City, Mo. The institute has shelved a planned $300 million expansion because of continued controversy over the use of stem cells in their research. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Charlie Riedel - AP) |
Proof of the progress, Farrow said, can be found in embryonic stem cell projects at Washington University in St. Louis, the Stowers Institute and the University of Missouri.
Stowers researchers, for example, are coaxing stem cells to develop into the types of cells that make up the human spine to possibly learn more about the causes of scoliosis.
Stowers spokeswoman Laurie Roberts said the institute has been conducting human embryonic stem cell research since the start of the year. Finding more stem cell researchers has been a struggle, she said, but the effort continues.
The institute "absolutely wants to expand and to do it right here in the state of Missouri," Roberts said, referring to the more than 100 acres that the institute bought in Kansas City.
Other states are closely watching developments in Missouri.
Since the amendment's passage, Farrow said, stem cell supporters from Nebraska, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia have contacted the Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. They want pointers on how to promote stem cell initiatives in their states, she said.
"Our stem cell amendment is a model for other states," Farrow said. "We're not going to stand idly by and let a few minority interest groups take our state backward."
