Mo. judge rewrites ballot summary for stem cell initiative

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has rewritten the ballot language for a proposed constitutional amendment banning certain embryonic stem cell research.

Cole County Judge Patricia Joyce says the language written by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan was insufficient and unfair.

Supporters of the ballot measure had sued. They claimed Carnahan's description could have biased voters against the initiative.

The proposal would reverse part of a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006. That measure allowed the use of so-called therapeutic cloning in stem cell research. The latest proposal seeks to ban it.

Last month, a judge also struck down Carnahan's summary of a proposal limiting affirmative action programs.