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I guess it was destined to happen. Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey introduced a second version of the Udall Bill. The original version is H R 1462. Smith's version (HR 3510) excludes the use of human fetal tissue obtained from an induced abortion. Whether this is good news or bad news I'm not sure. On the positive side, possibly this will result in the Commerce Subcommittee having hearings on the increasing funding for Parkinson's and get something moving on the house side. It's also brings to new supporters on as cosponsors Volkmer of Missouri and Flannigan of Illinois. On the negative side, anything which adds controversy to this issue will likely take more time to resolve. This comes at a point where time is perhaps a greater problem than votes. My initial thoughts therefore are that this decreases our chances of passing a bill this year which would increase funding for Parkinson's research. The key is how the pro choice supporters of HR 1462 react. If the abortion issue overshadows the Parkinson's research issue, we with Parkinson's may become yet another pawn in the abortion struggle.