The truth is non-partisan

I oppose Missouri's Amendment 2, for stem cell research, because NO special interest should have its own amendment in a state constitution. This is a legislative matter and a state constitution should not be cluttered with legislation. Supporters of stem cell research couldn't get the state legislature to enact a bill favoring their cause, so now they are resorting to more devious means. It's like a spoiled child going to dad and mom who both say "no." Then the little boy runs to the rest of the family so he can get what he wants. We don't need a constitutional referendum to enact legislation.

However, not only is the process bad, but so is the content of the amendment.

The $2 billion-endowed Stowers Institute in Kansas City is spearheading the campaign for stem cell research in Missouri and for passage of Amendment 2. Supporters have put $20 million into the campaign. Although the Republican governor and other GOP leaders support the measure, most state Republicans oppose the amendment. U.S. Senator Jim Talent, who is in a race for his political life, now says he opposes the amendment, not because he is against stem cell research, but because he says the amendment "would create ... an unqualified constitutional right to clone the earliest stages of human life."

The five-page, 2,000-word ballot for the amendment is misleading. It begins with the statement: "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being." But then it goes onto support state funding of stem cell research. Cloning and stem cell research are apparently different processes, according to the author's of the amendment.

The amendment gives a blank check to stem cell research, by denying the right of legislators to withhold funding for stem cell research. It states: "[N]o state or local government body or official shall eliminate, reduce, deny or withhold any public funds provided or eligible to be provided to a person that lawfully conducts stem cell research or provides stem cell therapies and cures."

Why should you care if you are not a resident of Missouri? Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak says it this way: "If government-approved cloning can be sold to the barometer pro-life
state of Missouri, it will show up next in other states with major research facilities."

So whether you live in Missouri or not, voice your opposition to this amendment and this kind of political process.

Watch a video explaining the amendment at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlPG_276j8Q

// posted by John Fisher @ 7:21 AM