Past petition deadline, stem cell fight goes on

If you want a ticket to the showdown on the stem cell debate this November, be sure to register to vote. The deadline for signatures to put the measure to protect some forms of embryonic stem cell research was Tuesday and now voters will get a chance to weigh in.

On May 1, eight days before the deadline, the Missouri Coalition For Life Saving Cures turned in 288,991 signatures — almost double the required 150,000 to get the measure on the ballot. Now, both sides of the debate are preparing for the next steps on how to sway voters.

“We are appealing this to the State Supreme Court because the language is misleading,” said Jaci Winship, executive director of Missourians Against Human Cloning. Her group, which filed a similar lawsuit in November, is leading the fight against pass­age of the amendment.

It has been an uphill battle for the group as it faces the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which has raised several million dollars and has rolled out an expensive media campaign in support of the amendment that includess numerous radio and television spots.

The coalition, which has also relied on its 46,000 members, plans to add to the media blitz by meeting with people.

“We are continuing to meet with citizens across the state because we want to ensure that every Missouri voter gets the facts about the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative,” said coalition spokeswoman Connie Farrow.

For the opposition, though, getting enough signatures had more to do with the coalition’s financial power.

“We expected (the coalition) to be able to buy enough signatures to get it on the ballot,” Winship said. “They have a lot of money and we have a lot of people.”

So far, Missourians Against Human Cloning has taken a grass-roots approach to the issue, and it is relying on this strategy, which involves townhall-type meetings at Rotary clubs, churches and service organizations, until November.

“We’re focusing on the people,” Winship said, “and Missourians are starting to understand that this is cloning.”

Winship dismisses the idea that these numbers mean anything or that they guarantee passage of the amendment.

“It doesn’t say very much at all except that they were willing to pay a lot,” she said.

Winship said the group has no plans beyond November.

“We’re focused on defeating this because it is an unethical, unneccessary and inappropriate amendment to the (state) Constitution,” Winship said.