House committee advances measure to stop form of stem-cell research

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research Tuesday forced through a House committee a proposed constitutional change that would undo research protections, seizing an opportunity when a supporter of embryonic research was absent.

Voters last year narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to guarantee that any stem-cell research allowed under federal law can occur in Missouri. The chief point for supporters was heading off legislative attempts to prevent a certain form of embryonic stem-cell research.

Anti-abortion activists say the research method, called somatic cell nuclear transfer, ends life at its earliest stages.

The constitutional change proposed by Rep. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, strikes at the heart of the voter-approved language. The measure would reword the ban on human cloning to make the embryonic research procedure illegal.

The measure has been stuck since late January in a House health committee, deadlocked 5-5. Bills need a majority in support to move to the full House. But Tuesday, one opponent, Rep. Craig Bland, D-Kansas City, was absent, and the chairman forced the proposal to a vote.

Bland did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Opponents of the measure tried to discuss it, propose changes and argue the debate was unfair and rushed.

"There are a lot of potential benefits of SCNT. I see this as a religious issue, not a logic or scientific issue," said Rep. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, a doctor who supports stem-cell research. "He used the powers of the chairman to his advantage."

Chairman Rep. Wayne Cooper, R-Camdenton, a doctor and co-sponsor of the measure, limited discussion to 15 minutes and then ordered a vote on the proposal. It received five votes in support, while opponents walked out of the room in protest.

Supporters said that's the way the process works.

"The rules are when you're in the majority you get to make the rules," committee vice chairwoman Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O'Fallon, said after the vote. "It's your job to show up at your committee meetings."

But the measure still has a long way to go. It first goes to the House Rules Committee, which must sign off and can set limits on debate before it goes to the floor.

Rules Committee chairman Rep. Shannon Cooper, R-Clinton, said he personally opposes the measure but would let the committee decide if it goes forward. Beyond that, House leaders determine which measures will be debated. If it won House approval, the Senate also would need to agree to the same language to send the issue to voters.

Lembke's proposed amendment would ban human cloning -- defined as any creation of an embryo other than by a sperm and egg, making the embryonic cloning procedure illegal.

The amendment voters approved also said it bans human cloning, but that definition is limited to placing a scientifically cloned embryo in a womb to grow into a baby.

"We are pleased that this clear, complete ban on human cloning is headed toward the full House for the debate this important issue deserves," Jaci Winship, executive director of Missourians Against Human Cloning, said in a written statement Tuesday.

Last year's ballot measure was sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, comprised of patient advocacy groups, researchers, businesses and individuals financed primarily by the founders of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City.

"The chairman lay in wait to thwart the will of Missouri voters by exploiting the absence of a committee member," Donn Rubin, chairman of the coalition, said in a written statement. "The proposed resolution is part of the continuing effort by some extreme legislators to push their real agenda of outlawing stem-cell research."

In the research procedure, the nucleus of an unfertilized human egg is removed and replaced with another cell, such as a skin cell, containing a person's DNA. The cell is then stimulated to grow and divide, and the resulting cells are harvested, destroying the embryo.

Lembke's amendment also would specifically allow the Legislature to determine restrictions and funding for health care research, while the voter-approved measure prevents lawmakers from cutting funding to entities because they conduct stem-cell research.

A similar measure was introduced in the Senate but hasn't yet been heard by a committee.