JEFFERSON CITY — A state appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court’s ruling upholding the language of a ballot proposal to protect stem cell research.
Opponents of the proposed amendment argue the language could lead voters to be deceived into approving human cloning for research purposes.
Supporters counter that the language summarizing the initiative accurately explains that the amendment would ban human cloning. They say the amendment would guarantee that all stem cell research allowed by the federal government could occur in Missouri.
The dispute boils down to what constitutes a life. The proposal would allow a type of cloning called somatic cell nuclear transfer. In that procedure, the nucleus of an unfertilized egg is removed and replaced with that of another cell, such as a skin cell. The resulting egg is stimulated to divide, then the cells are harvested.
Supporters hope the new cells could lead to cures for many diseases. Opponents say the procedure creates and then destroys a human life.
The case moved to the Missouri Court of Appeals after Cole County Senior Judge Byron Kinder ruled on Jan. 19 that the ballot is “sufficient and fair and the language is neutral.”