Cloning human embryos becomes 'constitutional right'

Cloning human embryos becomes 'constitutional right'
Missouri voters narrowly approve support for biomedical research industry

A ballot initiative in Missouri written to enshrine in the state constitution the right to clone human embryos for "research" was approved by voters by a single percentage point, and pro-life organizations have said they expect a court challenge to the plan.

The state's Amendment 2 was advertised as a human cloning ban, however, the 2,000-plus word document bans only the process of actually creating a live human being from cloning and inserts the right to clone human embryos in the constitution.

Voters have now "ushered in an era of death in Missouri under the false claim of helping vulnerable members of society. On the contrary, the most vulnerable – the innocent embryonic child – is now at greater risk than ever before," said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League.

"We are profoundly disappointed that the state of Missouri, with the passage of Amendment 2, will now allow the categorical destruction of innocent human beings through cloning and embryonic stem cell research," she said.

"For the past several months, we have watched the proponents of Amendment 2 slither through the state of Missouri, never telling the truth about what the amendment actually said. They said it would ban human cloning, but now Missouri will be cloning human embryos, experimenting on them and then killing them.

"They said that human embryonic stem cell research would benefit those who suffer from tragic diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease. And yet we all know that not a single success story can be related to the killing of human embryos," she said.

State officials said that with 3,570 of 3,734 precincts reporting, the initiative had gotten 1,024,136 votes to 996,584 against. That's a division of 50.7 percent for and 49.3 percent against.

"We are saddened by the passage of Amendment 2 and recognize that it only passed because this proposal was carefully crafted by the powerful bio-tech lobby's lawyers to purposely be misleading and confusing," said Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, the president of Human Life International.

The organization is the world's largest pro-life, pro-family human rights group with more than 90 affiliates in 75 nations.

He blamed the passage on greed.

"Jim Stowers personally poured millions of dollars into this effort to abuse the good will of Missouri voters who were told a vote for this amendment would've actually banned cloning. Stowers' motives were pursuit of power, profit and a blatant disregard for the life, health and well-being of women," Euteneuer said.

He was referring to the operations Stowers manages through the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which describes itself as an organization that "aspires to be one of the most innovative biomedical research organizations in the world."

The institute "conducts basic research on genes and proteins that control fundamental processes in living cells."

Opponents of the amendment charged that Stowers contributed millions to the campaign, with a plan to reap billions in income eventually.

"This amendment is inherently deceptive, exploitative and misleading and the people of Missouri deserve better. Women and their fertility will now be treated like a commodity that can be bought and sold on a whim, while subjecting women to a dangerous procedure that can cause irreparable harm and even death," Euteneuer said.

"We further hope that this amendment will be found unconstitutional in the Missouri courts and that the people of the state will take firm, determined action to undo this terrible injustice," he said.

"This is no triumph for science, it is a victory for dishonesty and confusion – a new Tower of Babel – where words have no meaning," said D. Ben Mitchell, the chief of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity.

Mitchell said the proposal simply described cloning the way supporters wanted, even though "practically every scientific authority disagrees with them."

"Missouri voters have sown the wind and they will reap the whirlwind," said Mitchell. "You cannot sow the seeds of immorality into the constitution of the state and not harvest a whirlwind of problems in the future."

Missourians Against Human Cloning, which campaigned in the state about the deceptive wording of the amendment, had featured "The Passion of the Christ" star Jim Caviezel and other celebrities in its ads.

Jaci Winship, a spokeswoman for the Missouri group, said the $30 million cloning promoters spent on their campaign shows "you can buy a constitutional amendment in Missouri to benefit a single special interest."

"Missouri is poised to be known as the Clone-Me State instead of the Show-Me State," she said. "What is clear is that Missouri is sharply divided straight down the middle on this issue, and we shouldn't be amending the Constitution with just 50.7 percent of the vote. We will continue to carry this battle forward. Our coalition is staying together and we have a lot of work to do.

"While this may be a setback the battle goes on and we won't rest until truth wins the victory and deception is defeated."

Besides Caviezel, Patricia Heaton, of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and Kansas City Royals' Mike Sweeney opposed the cloning plan.

"These are people who have been wanting to be involved, wanting to know what they could to do help," Winship told WND. "They pulled this together, and they speak about Amendment 2 in their own words."

Actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, had promoted the cloning research as a potential for phenomenal cures for many diseases but later said he didn't actually read the proposal and didn't know what it did.