About 2 miles from me there lies a beautiful, state of the art, impeccably landscaped building complex. It's called the Stowers Institute, and it was recently built to bring top flight medical research to Kansas City (for those of you who don't know, KC isn't really pegged for it's world-renowned medical facilities). I attended a seminar there back when I was still on my pre-med kick and doing research in lab at the medical school. The facilities were gorgeous and luxurious.
So you can imagine my anger when certain Missouri legislators proposed a ban on all stem cell research in the state and the Stowers Institute announced it might have to leave. But fear not, the polls have spoken! (and the voters will soon follow)
Earlier this week, the Republican polling firm Market Strategies released the results of a very comprehensive survey studying Missouri voters and their views on stem cell research. The poll, which was meant to shed some light on where exactly the electorate stands on the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative Amendment, found that an overwhelming majority support the notion of stem cell research, with close to 90 percent supporting adult-type stem cell research and nearly two-thirds backing embryonic stem cell research. Missouri Democratic Party spokesperson Jack Cardetti told Roll Call (subscription only) that the initiative could prove to be a “political minefield” in 2006 for Sen. Jim Talent, who along with Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback co-sponsored a bill that would ban a certain form of stem cell research known somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Anything that's bad for Brownback is good for me! And Jim Talent -- he's just plain evil. Point
two for the advancement of science!