The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), which in November joined with dozens of other patient advocacy groups as a member of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, has endorsed the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.
St. Louis, Mo. – infoZine – Proposed for the November 2006 state ballot, the initiative will prevent the Missouri legislature from banning any stem cell research or cures allowed under federal law. It also creates clear ethical and safety guidelines for stem cell research conducted in Missouri , including a ban on human cloning or any attempt to clone a human being.
“The Lance Armstrong Foundation supports the initiative because Missouri patients should have access to any federally-approved stem cell cures that are developed. This initiative could benefit many whose diseases and injuries could someday be cured as a result of stem cell research, potentially including some forms of cancer,” said Doug Ulman, chief mission officer for the LAF. “All patients everywhere should have access to any future therapies or cures that result from groundbreaking medical discoveries.”
The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures is a broad-based coalition that includes thousands of concerned citizens and dozens of leading medical and patient organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, Christopher Reeve Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc., Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Council on Spinal Cord Injury and the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. The Coalition is currently working to gather the signatures needed to place the Stem Cell Initiative on the November 2006 state ballot.
The LAF was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong to inspire and empower people affected by cancer. The LAF serves its mission through advocacy, public health and research.
More information about the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures and the Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative is available online at www.MissouriCures.com. For additional information about the LAF, visit www.livestrong.org.
The article never mentions or distinguishes between embryonic and adult stem cell research and funding. This is mis-leading in that embryonic stem cell research involves the taking of a human life.