Rep. Cynthia Davis, at it again

Missouri would ban the use of public dollars for stem cell research through a constitutional amendment proposed in legislation filed this week.
The Right-wing, Republican, ultra-conservatives in Jefferson City are working overtime to keep Missouri in the dark ages.

It seems our old, kooky friend Representative Cynthia "I haven't got a brain in my head" Davis, R-O'Fallon wants to go after stem cell research again.

The biggest problems there are with this are that it "could cost the state millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs...", for starters.

What gets me is that this nut wants to make it a Constitutional Amendment.

This is the same nut who wants to be able to legally take her handgun to her church.

Seriously.

Here's where this hurts Kansas City, directly:

"The proposed ban would not directly affect research at the Kansas City-based Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which doesn’t rely on tax support. However, consistent efforts to limit embryonic stem cell research in Missouri have prompted the institute to hold off on local expansion plans."

Here's how it could effect Missouri directly:

"The amendment could cost Missouri millions of dollars in economic opportunities and thousands of high-paying jobs, according to a report released in October by Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee’s office on the Roundtable for Life’s ballot initiative."

"Affected industries would include the medical and research fields, as well as construction and other related sectors. The four-campus University of Missouri System came out against it, and the city of St. Louis said it would lose $14.3 million in general revenue a year if the amendment were to pass."

“'Scientists in general will view Missouri as a regressive and unfriendly place for life sciences research, and those who make careers of cutting-edge research will not locate in Missouri' if the amendment passed, city officials told auditors."

I don't want to always suck up to every business that comes along--as anyone who knows me would attest--but this one should be good for advances in pure science and health care, along with being good for our economy.

What Ms. Davis and her group of kooks need to know is that, in the first place, the stem cells used are ones that would be thrown away anyway and, secondly, that new research is getting stem cells from other sources than embryos.

But, hey, why should facts stand in the way of a religious, fundamentalist nutcase?

Personally, I just thank God I'm not from O'Fallon, Missouri.


Link: http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/11/30/daily32.html?ed=2009-12-03&ana=e_du_pub
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/12/cynthia_davis_fighting_for_gun_rights_in_missouri_churches.php