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Supporters Rally for Amendment 2 -- Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative

Posted on: Monday, 14 August 2006, 12:00 CDT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of patients and supporters of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures came together today to kick-off the fall campaign to support a Yes vote on Amendment 2: the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

The Stem Cell Initiative, which has been certified as Amendment 2 on the November statewide ballot, ensures that Missouri patients will continue to have access to any stem cell therapies and cures allowed under federal law and available to other Americans.

"I support the Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative because it will save lives. Passage of Amendment 2 will be a victory for all Missourians who believe that they should have access to lifesaving medical cures that are available to all other Americans," Former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth, an Episcopal minister and an honorary co-chair of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, told the crowd.

Stem cell research has the potential to cure diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, cancer, heart disease and spinal cord injury. The Stem Cell Initiative will establish clear and enforceable guidelines for regulating research, treatments and cures that are legal under federal law. And, it strictly bans any attempt to clone a human being.

Other speakers at the rally to support of Amendment 2 included: -- Donn Rubin, Chairman, Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures -- Dr. William B. Neaves, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City -- The Rev. B.T. Rice, Senior Pastor, New Horizon Seventh Day Christian Church in St. Louis -- Frances Dobelman, patient advocate, Springfield -- Dr. F. Sessions Cole, Vice Chairman, Pediatrics and Director of Newborn Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine/St. Louis Children's Hospital -- Lee Fetter, President, St. Louis Children's Hospital -- Austin Dorrell, a 10-year-old from Kansas City who has Juvenile Diabetes, and his mother Renee Austin, Board Member, Greater Kansas City Chapter, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation

The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative was developed in response to repeated attempts by Missouri politicians to pass legislation that would impose a state ban on some of the most promising forms of stem cell research and cures. Amendment 2 will prevent any such bans and ensure that all stem cell research and cures allowed under federal law will continue to be allowed in Missouri.

"Stem cell research may be the avenue that will allow me to walk again one day by replacing the damaged cells in my spinal cord with new fresh cells. The choice is clear. Politics aside, vote YES on Amendment 2," said Jeff McCaffrey, a 22-year-old student at University of Missouri at Kansas City who suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident.

Amendment 2 is endorsed by a coalition of more than 100 patient, medical, faith and civic organizations. Nearly 60,000 individual citizens -- including more than 2,000 medical doctors, nurses and other health care professionals -- have also joined Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, making it the largest of its kind ever formed to support a ballot initiative in the state.

"We recognize the overwhelming evidence that early stem cells offer the best prospect of finding cures for hundreds of thousands of Missourians who suffer from a broad range of degenerative diseases and debilitating injuries," Dr. Neaves said. "We believe that Missouri scientists and physicians can and should be leaders in the search for early stem cell treatments and cures. And we believe that Missouri patients should have access to those treatments and cures when they become available."

More information on Amendment 2 and a complete list of organizations that support the Stem Cell Initiative are available on the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures Web site at http://www.missouricures.com/ .

Contact: Connie Farrow (314) 968-2600

Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures

CONTACT: Connie Farrow of Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures,+1-314-968-2600

Web site: http://www.missouricures.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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