The Stem Cell Hard Sell
Currie, Duncan
The Stem Cell Hard Sell Missouri's clone wars. by Duncan Currie St. Louis Michael J. Fox was right— at least partially. "What you do in Missouri," Fox said in his now famous TV ad, "matters to...
...No one wants to jail doctors and patients...
...Or does fusing the nucleus of an "egg cell" and the nucleus of a "somatic cell" amount to creating a "cloned" embryo...
...On both sides, the media blitz shows no signs of abating...
...Remember, said Ruse, "Embryonic stem cell research is already legal today—it's happening across the state...
...Amendment 2 would not change that...
...A court ruled against them, finding the summary fair, accurate, and impartial...
...Talent once cosponsored a Senate bill to ban human cloning, but then withdrew his name last February, fearing it might imperil a new form of research called "altered nuclear transfer," which can yield embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos...
...But as long as the egg it produces is kept in a test tube, Amendment 2 declares that it is not a clone...
...Amendment 2, the failure of that amendment would not "criminalize" anything...
...Senator Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope...
...It has thus been an uphill battle for Amendment 2 foes...
...SCNT is in fact the first, necessary step in cloning...
...So far, no disputes...
...But Fox was correct to imply that the fate of Amendment 2 will reverberate far beyond Missouri...
...Who's right...
...By far the biggest financial backers of the coalition have been James and Virginia Stowers, two cancer survivors who used their fortune to establish the nonprofit Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City...
...The embryos created with this technique are a source of human stem cells, and the right to create them is the point of Amendment 2—hence, it refers to "any scientific or medical research involving human stem cells derived from in vitro fertilization blastocysts or from somatic cell nuclear transfer...
...Among other things, it tells voters that a "yes" vote will "ban human cloning or attempted cloning...
...While Talent opposes Duncan Currie is a reporter for The WEEKLY Standard...
...Indeed, he said, by criminalizing medical research, the anti-SCNT legislation would mandate that a cured patient's first steps "out of a wheelchair" would be "into a jail cell...
...Our initiative bans any attempt to do that...
...The text of Amendment 2 adds up to nearly 2,000 words...
...According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, SCNT "involves removing the nucleus of an unfertilized egg cell, replacing it with the material from the nucleus of a 'somatic cell' (a skin, heart, or nerve cell, for example), and stimulating this cell to begin dividing...
...What you do in Missouri," Fox said in his now famous TV ad, "matters to millions of Americans— Americans like me...
...And does somatic cell nuclear transfer fall under that rubric...
...But let's hope Missourians at least understand what they're voting for—a constitutional rubber stamp for therapeutic cloning...
...True...
...Most major scientific organizations strongly favor SCNT—includ-ing the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association, and the International Society for Stem Cell Research—but also define it as "therapeutic cloning...
...Slogging through it can be headache-inducing, given the dense biomedical jargon...
...They get succor from the state's influential science lobby...
...But the subtext was clear: Vote for McCaskill— and while you're at it, vote "yes" on Amendment 2. "As you might know, i care deeply about stem cell research," said Fox, a longtime and visibly suffering Parkinson's patient, in a spot that first aired during the World Series...
...Supporters insist it would write a ban on human cloning into the Missouri constitution and codify an ethical framework for stem cell research...
...Amendment 2 may or may not deserve passage...
...Danforth has said the amendment "will save lives" but also preserve "the sanctity of life...
...After the Michael J. Fox clip aired, Missourians Against Human Cloning rolled out their own celebrity-filled ad, which included St...
...It's not cloning a person," Rubin told me last week...
...Last week, in a testy radio debate on Missouri's KWMU, Rubin stressed that Amendment 2 would prevent the creation of "Dolly the human" and ensure that any form of "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT) allowed under federal law would also be permissible in Missouri...
...Talent supports that research—indeed, he supports any form of stem cell research that leaves embryos intact and doesn't entail cloning...
...Though the amendment has polled extremely well since its introduction, critics have lately narrowed the gap...
...Unfortunately, Senator Jim Talent opposes expanding stem cell research...
...Will voters recognize the difference...
...The summary totals nearly 140 words...
...According to Rubin, the "reprehensible" and "drastic" bills being mulled in Jefferson City would penalize "doctors and patients" and "throw them in jail with drug dealers and arsonists...
...Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan, NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, actress Patricia Heaton, and Passion of the Christ star James Caviezel...
...In SCNT, a nucleus taken from a body (somatic) cell, which contains the DNA of an organism, is transferred into an egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed, thus creating an ovum that is a genetic replica of the original body cell...
...But the relevant questions then become: Must a human embryo be implanted in a uterus for it to be a "clone...
...Opponents claim it would actually legalize cloning despite appearing to outlaw it...
...This group also claims the amendment will hurt women by encouraging an exploitative market in human eggs...
...The urgency of the amendment, he added, stemmed from recent efforts in the state legislature to prohibit SCNT...
...His foil, Cathy Ruse, spokeswoman for Missourians Against Human Cloning, treated these remarks with bemused derision...
...Donn Rubin, chairman of the amendment-backing Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, puts it bluntly: "There really is no shame among the opponents...
...In other words, cloning is equated with implantation...
...He merely endorsed Democratic Senate candidate claire Mccaskill, the state auditor, and spoke against GOP incumbent Jim Talent...
...This egg, if implanted and brought to term, would produce a cloned organism...
...This was misleading...
...But it states a few points quite plainly: "Any stem cell research permitted under federal law may be conducted in Missouri, and any stem cell therapies and cures permitted under federal law may be provided to patients in Missouri...
...That gets to the crux of the debate: What qualifies as "cloning...
...The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures has spent nearly $30 million supporting the initiative...
...Once the cell begins dividing, stem cells can be extracted 5-6 days later and used for research...
...What is Amendment 2? Depends on whom you ask...
...Most Democrats favor Amendment 2. So do Governor Matt Blunt, a popular Republican, and former GOP senator John Dan-forth, an honorary co-chairman of the Cures coalition...
...But it would carve out a constitutional right to perform SCNT—which, according to Ruse, is the same thing as cloning...
...Missouri is, after all, a red state with a hefty pro-life movement...
...He never mentioned Amendment 2. He never mentioned the word "cloning...
...That is hysterical," she said...
...In 2005, Missourians Against Human Cloning sued to have the ballot language changed, arguing it was deceptive...
...According to a study trumpeted on the coalition's website, "the planned 'Phase II' expansion of the Stowers Institute . . . will only go forward in Missouri if Amendment 2 passes and ensures that the Institute will be able to conduct any stem cell research allowed under federal law...
...On November 7, Missourians will be able to read a brief "fair ballot" summary of Amendment 2 in the voting booth...
...In Missouri you can elect Claire McCaskill, who shares my hope for cures...
...Also: "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being...
...But then comes the definition of "cloning": "to implant in a uterus or attempt to implant in a uterus anything other than the product of fertilization of an egg of a human female by a sperm of a human male for the purpose of initiating a pregnancy that could result in the creation of a human fetus, or the birth of a human being...
Vol. 12 • November 2006 • No. 8
