CALL MINNESOTA GOVERNOR TODAY!


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.

H.F. No. 34,  as introduced - 85th Legislative Session (2007-2008)   Posted 
on Jan 08, 2007
1.1 A bill for an act
1.2relating to health; establishing state policy for stem cell research; 
providing
1.3criminal penalties; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in
1.4Minnesota Statutes, chapters 137; 145.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6    Section 1. [137.45] STEM CELL RESEARCH.
1.7    The University of Minnesota may spend state-appropriated funds on 
stem cell
1.8research.

1.9    Sec. 2. [145.426] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.
1.10    The legislature finds and declares all of the following:
1.11    (a) An estimated 128,000,000 Americans suffer from the crippling 
economic
1.12and psychological burden of chronic, degenerative, and acute diseases 
and conditions,
1.13including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and cancer.
1.14    (b) The costs of treatment and lost productivity of chronic, 
degenerative, and acute
1.15diseases and conditions in the United States constitute hundreds of 
billions of dollars every
1.16year. Estimates of the economic costs of these diseases and conditions 
do not account for
1.17the associated extreme human loss and suffering.
1.18    (c) Stem cell research offers immense promise for developing new 
medical therapies
1.19for these debilitating diseases and conditions and a critical means to 
explore fundamental
1.20questions of biology. Stem cell research could lead to unprecedented 
treatments and
1.21potential cures for diabetes, cancer, and other diseases and conditions.
1.22    (d) The United States and Minnesota have historically been a haven 
for open
1.23scientific inquiry and technological innovation and this environment, 
coupled with the
2.1commitment of public and private resources, has made the United States 
the preeminent
2.2world leader in biomedicine and biotechnology.
2.3    (e) The biomedical industry is a critical and growing component of 
Minnesota's
2.4economy and would be significantly diminished by limitations imposed on 
stem cell
2.5research.
2.6    (f) Open scientific inquiry and publicly funded research will be 
essential to realizing
2.7the promise of stem cell research and to maintain Minnesota's leadership 
in biomedicine
2.8and biotechnology. Publicly funded stem cell research, conducted under 
established
2.9standards of open scientific exchange, peer review, and public oversight, 
offers the
2.10most efficient and responsible means of fulfilling the promise of stem 
cells to provide
2.11regenerative medical therapies.
2.12    (g) Stem cell research, including the use of embryonic stem cells 
for medical
2.13research, raises significant ethical and policy concerns and, while not 
unique, the ethical
2.14and policy concerns associated with stem cell research must be carefully 
considered.
2.15    (h) Public policy on stem cell research must balance ethical and 
medical
2.16considerations. The policy must be based on an understanding of the 
science associated
2.17with stem cell research and grounded in a thorough consideration of the 
ethical concerns
2.18regarding this research. Public policy on stem cell research must be 
carefully crafted to
2.19ensure that researchers have the tools necessary to fulfill the promise 
of stem cell research.

2.20    Sec. 3. [145.427] STATE POLICY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH.
2.21    Subdivision 1. Research use permitted. The policy of the state of 
Minnesota is
2.22that research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem 
cells, human
2.23embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, 
including somatic
2.24cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted and that full 
consideration of the ethical
2.25and medical implications of this research be given. Research involving 
the derivation and
2.26use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human 
adult stem
2.27cells, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall be reviewed 
by an approved
2.28institutional review board.
2.29    Subd. 2. Informed consent. A physician, surgeon, or other health 
care provider
2.30who is treating a patient for infertility shall provide the patient with 
timely, relevant, and
2.31appropriate information sufficient to allow the patient to make an 
informed and voluntary
2.32choice regarding the disposition of any human embryos remaining 
following the fertility
2.33treatment. Any patient to whom information is provided under this 
subdivision shall
2.34be presented with the options of storing any unused embryos, donating 
the embryos
2.35to another individual, discarding the embryos, or donating the remaining 
embryos for
3.1research. Any patient who elects to donate embryos remaining after 
fertility treatments
3.2for research shall provide written consent to that donation.
3.3    Subd. 3. Prohibiting sale of fetal tissue. (a) A person may not 
knowingly, for
3.4valuable consideration, purchase, sell, or otherwise transfer or obtain, 
or promote the
3.5sale or transfer of, embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research 
purposes. However,
3.6embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue may be donated for research purposes 
under this
3.7section. For purposes of this subdivision, "valuable consideration" means 
financial gain or
3.8advantage, but does not include reasonable payment for the removal, 
processing, disposal,
3.9preservation, quality control, storage, transplantation, or implantation 
of embryonic or
3.10cadaveric fetal tissue.
3.11    (b) Violation of this subdivision is a gross misdemeanor.

3.12    Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
3.13    $....... in fiscal year 2008 is appropriated from the general fund 
to the Board of
3.14Regents of the University of Minnesota for the purposes of sections 1 to 
3.

Please direct all comments concerning issues or legislation
to your House Member or State Senator.
For Legislative Staff or for directions to the Capitol, visit the Contact Us 
page.
General questions or comments.
last updated: 01/04/2008

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
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