Mo. lawsuit asks court to clarify stem cell limits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An embryonic stem cell critic is suing to delay spending from a state life-sciences research fund.

Missouri Roundtable for Life argues in a lawsuit filed Monday that the courts should decide whether existing limits on using the fund's money for certain research are trumped by a 2006 constitutional amendment endorsing stem cell research.

The group's attorney is Ed Martin, the former chief of staff for Gov. Matt Blunt. Martin says it's also unclear whether the 2006 amendment requires researchers who receive grants in a single year to be given the same amount each year.

Lawmakers budgeted $21 million this year for the Life Sciences Research Trust Fund, which was created in 2003 for various research projects. The law creating the trust fund bars funding for abortion services and human cloning.