In Missouri, Amendment 2 on the ballot this year is a proposed referendum initiative (the “Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative”) which would amend Missouri’s Constitution to permit any stem cell research to be conducted in that state which is otherwise permitted under Federal Law. A fairly straightforward proposal, yes? Not according to opponents of the measure such as St Louis Cardinals pitching star, Jeff Suppan, who makes the following sensational claim in a television ad:
In a video copy of the ad, produced and distributed by an anti-amendment group called Missourians Against Human Cloning and posted on the Internet, Mr. Suppan’s face appears in the first 10 seconds. He is not wearing a baseball cap in the ad.
“Amendment 2 claims it bans human cloning, but in the 2,000 words you don’t read, it makes cloning a constitutional right,” Mr. Suppan says in the ad. “Don’t be deceived.”
Now that’s a pretty big charge to make, and quite the attention getter. I don’t know what you think about the morality of cloning human beings, but a good argument can be made that this may be an ethical boundary we as a species shouldn’t cross. Certainly a lot of people oppose human cloning for a variety of reasons.
However, it’s a little surprising to see Mr. Suppan arguing against a vote in favor of Amendment 2 in Missouri based on provisions which make cloning a constitutional right, especially when the text of the Amendment is readily available on the internet for anyone to read. Here’s what it says about cloning:
… 2. To ensure that Missouri patients have access to stem cell therapies and cures, that Missouri researchers can conduct stem cell research in the state, and that all such research is conducted safely and ethically, any stem cell research permitted under federal law may be conducted in Missouri, and any stem cell therapies and cures permitted under federal law may be provided to patients in Missouri, subject to the requirements of federal law and only the following additional limitations and requirements:
(1) No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being.
Human cloning is defined in Amendment 2 as implanting a viable fertilized egg, created by means other than through the combination of human egg and sperm cells, into a women’s uterus for development into a human being. That seems pretty conclusive to me. No human clones like Dolly the sheep can be brought into existence. But opponents of the bill seem obsessed with claiming that current techniques necessary to conduct research on adult stem cells are really cloning under another name. In essence they argue that “cloning” equals “cell reprogramming techniques such as somatic cell nuclear transfer” which are permitted under Amendment 2.
Let’s be clear. Somatic cell nuclear transfer does not result in the creation of a human clone. It can be used to initiate the process of reproductive cloning, whereby a human clone baby could be produced, but it would be only the first step in a long process to reach that goal. And since Amendment 2 disallows the implantation of such clone blastocysts into any woman’s uterus, you won’t see clone babies made in Missouri any time soon, even if this amendment passes.
Essentially, what Jeff Suppan and his friends at Missourians Against Human Cloning really oppose is adult stem cell research which employs blastocysts created from adult stem cells. In short, they not only object to the use of embryonic stem cell research which uses blastocysts created by in vitro fertilization techniques, but now they object to adult stem cell research as well. Thus, they want to ban all stem cell research, whether using embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells.
So don’t be fooled by the clever nomenclature they use to hide their true motives behind. It isn’t cloning they’re concerned about, its stem cell research in any form. They want to turn our country into a scientific backwater, and a third rate economic power, all because they are frightened by research on human biology. My guess is that they are less concerned about the torture, murder and execution of real, live human beings than they are with protecting the rights of blastocysts. It isn’t bioethical considerations which motivate them, its a desire to undermine science in the name of their fundamentalist religious beliefs.
By the way, guess who supports them in their fight against Amendment 2:
Award winning author and attorney Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington, an attorney and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture.
That’s right, the Discovery Institute, the primary defender of the discredited (and thinly veiled creationist) theory of Intelligent Design and hater of all things Darwin. No surprise there. Scratch beneath the surface of groups who oppose a stem cell research and you’ll find Christian fundies lurking around every time.
So, if you happen to see Mr. Suppan’s TV ad this week, just remember, human cloning isn’t the issue he’s really concerned about.
Californian Jeff Suppan, who joined the Cardinals’ pitching rotation in 2004, and his wife Dana are members of St. Joseph Church in Clayton, Mo. A star at Crespi High School in Encino, Suppan credits his close-knit family, and his mother, in particular, with giving him a strong faith. […]
“I just basically try to follow Jesus every day,” he added. “I try to improve my prayer life every day, and I feel the more I pray, it really keeps me focused on him.”
I don’t intend to demean Jeff Suppan’s faith. He can believe anything he chooses. But isn’t lying a sin, Jeff? I know it is in my Bible.
Missourians Against Human Cloning
