The Missouri Court of Appeals has issued a split ruling in an appeal of the wording of what is known as the Human Cloning Initiative.
The Missouri Cures Without Cloning Initiative Campaign had initially challenged Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s summary language of the initiative, and Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce agreed with the plaintiffs that the summary was ‘insufficient and unfair." She then wrote a new summary, which was appealed by the Secretary of State.
The Appeals Court has now ruled that Judge Joyce was correct in claiming the summary statement was "insufficient and unfair" because of the use of the word "repeal" as it pertains to the ban on human cloning. The Appeals Court has substituted the word "change." It also ruled the Secretary was correct in her claim that the amendment would limit patients’ access to stem cells and cures.
Despite the ruling, it is a safe bet Missourians will not be voting on this issue in November as supporters would have to collect and submit approximately 150,000 signatures between now and Sunday and present them to the Secretary of State’s Office for verification. The Coalition will be allowed to submit a new proposal, with the approved language, the day after the November election in a bid to collect signatures for the November, 2010 ballot.
