Court Upholds Wording of Stem Cell Ballot Initiative

A three-judge appeals panel in Kansas City has upheld a Cole County Court decision that the language on the petition and possibly ballot measure protecting stem cell research in Missouri is fair and accurate. Donn Rubin with the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, a group backing the initiative, praises the decision. But Larry Weber of the Missouri Catholic Conference, a group opposed to the measure, maintains most voters don’t know the measure would allow for somatic cell nuclear transfer – a form of cloning in his group’s eyes. One judge on the appeals panel backed up the assertion that the language should not go to the voters in its current form, something Weber sees as an opening. Rubin points out it’s just a minority opinion. Weber admits it’s too early to decide if it’s enough for an appeal.