This initiative presents several grave problems.
The wording on the ballot is misleading, stating that human cloning will be banned. Instead the amendment only bans reproductive cloning. In order to obtain personalized stem cells from embryos, a human clone must be produced and killed. This is harvesting humans for research purposes, and is not the kind of science we want to promote in Missouri: unethical and unproductive. This amendment would place in our state constitution a protected right to clone humans for the purpose of experimentation and will tie the hands of the legislators that we place in office. The proponents of such research in Jefferson City are attempting to pass this inititiative off to the people of Missouri in order to not leave a stain on their record or because they know most people in Missouri are going to vote for an amendment that deals with "hope" and "cures." This is why it is critical for everyone who believes in the dignity of human life to take a stand and to expose these half-truths and misconceptions.
One of the purposes of this website is to help familiarize Missourians with the fundamentals and language of this research, and to provide examples of productive, ethical research on adult stem cells that are taking place as we write.
There is hope in Missouri for those afflicted with a variety of diseases; adult stem cell research continues to advance at a rapid rate and has already provided treatment for people with 65 different diseases and ailments. Embryonic stem cell research, on the other hand, has yet to cure a single person. Let's not enter the dark and murky waters of unethical research practices, but invest our efforts into research that is both ethical and practical.
