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STEM CELL BATTLES
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See this empty wheelchair? We who fight for embryonic stem cell research believe that wheelchairs are for temporary occupancy only. We do not accept the diagnosis of “incurable”, given to more than one hundred million Americans with cancer, paralysis, Alzheimer's, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, MS, and more. We are America's millions: patients, family, and friends. We support research to bring cures, to empty the wheelchairs everywhere.
Don C. Reed
Don C. Reed is co-chair of Californians for Cures, and writes for their web blog, www.stemcellbattles.com. Reed was citizen-sponsor for California’s Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, named after his paralyzed son; he worked as a grassroots advocate for California’s Senator Deborah Ortiz’s three stem cell regulatory laws, served as an executive board member for Proposition 71, the California Stem Cells for Research and Cures Act, and is director of policy outreach for Americans for Cures. The retired schoolteacher is the author of five books and thirty magazine articles, and has received the National Press Award.
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Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from Representative Phyllis Kahn (D-MN) saying that a very good stem cell research bill for the state of Minnesota, had just passed their House of Representatives, and was almost certainly going to pass the Senate today, Friday, May 9th.
The only roadblock could be the Governor, Tim Pawlenty, rumored to be on the short list of Senator John McCain’s possible choices for Vice-President. He might be tempted to veto this important bill.
Representative Kahn, a long-time stem cell research supporter, asks us to do everything in our power to contact Governor Pawlenty. We cannot let her down.
Please call Governor Tim Pawlenty, today. Leave a message with one of his assistants, asking the Governor to sign the stem cell research bill (HF 34/SF 100) which just passed the Minnesota state House of Representatives.
Governor Pawlenty’s phone number is (651) 296-3391.
I have a list of about 60 activists in Minnesota. I will contact them. Do you have any friends in that state? If so, please call them, and ask them to call the Governor.
Would you personally be one of the folks who will make the call to Governor Pawlenty? Even if you do not live in Minnesota, it is vital that he hears from us.
No Governor should be allowed to block stem cell research—and expect to have it go unnoticed!
If he signs it, that is to his credit. If not, he must know that America took note, that we are watching, and that we will remember in November.
Thanks!
P.S. Below is the bill we support. It is an excellent permissions bill, authorizing the University of Minnesota to spend state-appropriated funds on full stem cell research.
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REVISOR This Document can be made available in alternative formats upon request State of Minnesota HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-FIFTH SESSION January 8,2007 Authored by Kahn, Hilty, Greiling, Hornstein, Bly and others The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Biosciences and Emerging Technologies A bill for an act relating to health; establishing state policy for stem cell research; providing criminal penalties; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 137; 145. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: Section 1. r137.451 STEM CELL RESEARCH. The University of Minnesota may spend state-appropriated funds on stem cell research. Sec. 2. 1145.4261 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) An estimated 128,000,000 Americans suffer from the crippling economic and psychological burden of chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases and conditions, including. diabetes. Parkinson's disease. and cancer. (b) The costs of treatment and lost productivity of chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases and conditions in the United States constitute hundreds of billions of dollars everv year. Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases and conditions do not account for the associated extreme human loss and suffering.. (c) Stem cell research offers immense promise for developing new medical therapies for these debilitating. diseases and conditions and a critical means to ex~lorefu ndamental questions of biology. Stem cell research could lead to unprecedented treatments and Potential cures for diabetes. cancer. and other diseases and conditions. (d) The United States and Minnesota have historically been a haven for open scientific inquiry and technological innovation and this environment, coupled with the 12/11/06 REVISOR SGS!RC 07-0412 commitment of public and private resources, has made the United States the preeminent world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology. (e) The biomedical industry is a critical and growing component of Minnesota's economy and would be significantly diminished by limitations imposed on stem cell research. (f) Open scientific inquiry and publicly hnded research will be essential to realizing the promise of stem cell research and to maintain Minnesota's leadership in biomedicine and biotechnology. Publicly funded stem cell research, conducted under established standards of opcn scientific cxchangc, pccr rcvicw, and public oversight, offcrs thc most cfficicnt and rcsponsiblc nicans of fulfilling the promise of stcm cells to providc regenerative medical therapies. (g) Stem cell research, including the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, raises significant ethical and policy concerns and, while not unique, the ethical and policy concerns associated with stem cell research must be carefully considered. (h) Public policy on stem cell research must balance ethical and medical considerations. The policy must be based on an understanding of the science associated with stem cell research and grounded in a thorough consideration of the ethical concerns regarding this research. Public policy on stem cell research must be carefully crafted to ensure that researchers have the tools necessary to kIfill the promise of stem cell research. Sec. 3. C145.4271 STATE POLICY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH. Subdivision 1. Research use permitted. The policy of the state of Minnesota is that research involvine: the derivation and use of human embrvonic stem cells. human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted and that full consideration of the ethical and medical implications ofthis research be given. Research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall be reviewed by an approved institutional review board. Subd. 2. Informed consent. A physician, surgeon, or other health care provider who is treating a patient for infertility shall provide the patient with timely, relevant, and appropriate information sufficient to allow the patient to make an informed and voluntary choice regarding thc disposition of any human cmb~yosrc maining following thc fertility treatment. Any patient to whom in formation is provided under this subdivision shall be presented with the options of storing any 11nusi.d ern hryos. donating the cmbr).os lo anothcr individual, discarding thc cmbryos, or donating thc remaining; embryos for 12/11/06 REVISOR SGS!RC 07-0412 research. Any patient who elects to donate embryos remaining after fertility treatments for research shall provide written consent to that donation. Subd. 3. Prohibiting sale of fetal tissue. (a) A person may not knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchase, sell, or otherwise transfer or obtain, or promote the sale or transfer of, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes. However, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue may be donated for research purposes under this section. For purposes of this subdivision, "valuable consideration" means financial gain or advantage, but does not include reasonable payment for the removal, processing, disposal, prcscrvation, quality control, storagc, transplantation, or implantation of cmbryonic or cadavcric fctal tissuc. (b) Violation of this subdivision is a gross niisdemeanor. 3.12 Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION. 3.13 $....... in fiscal year 2008 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of 3.14 Regents of the University of Minnesota for the purposes of sections 1 to 3. |
