Your view: Vote no on 2

The 2006 Ballot Measure, Constitutional Amendment 2, Stem Cell Initiative will be decided when voters go to the polls in November. I oppose this Amendment for many reasons.

The first reason is that unless you read the full text of the Amendment you will not see this notice at the very beginning.

"NOTICE: You are advised that the proposed constitutional amendment may change, repeal, or modify by implication or may be construed by some persons to change, repeal, or modify by implication, the following provisions of the Constitution of Missouri- Sections 2, 10, 14, and 32 of Article I; Section 1 of Article II; Sections 1, 21, 22, 23, 28, 36, 39, 40, 41, and 42 of Article III; Sections 1, 14, 36(a), 37, 37(a), 39, and 52 of Article IV; Sections 5, 14, 17, 18, and 23, and subsection 17 of Section 27 of Article V; Sections 18(b), 18(c),18(d), 18(k), 18(m), 19(a), 20, 31, 32(a), and 32(b) of Article VI; Section 9(a) of Article IX; Sections 1, 6, 11(a), 11(d), and 11(f) of Article X; and Section 3 of Article XI."

I am not a lawyer and therefor do not know the full implication of what the changes this amendment will bring about, but Article I is the Bill of Rights, Section 2 deals with the natural rights of persons and equality under the law, Section 10 deals with due process of law, and Section 32 deals with criminal victims rights. Section 37 of Article IV deals with the Department of Social Services, 37(a) deals with the Department of Mental Health, and Section 52 of Article IV deals with the Department of Higher Education. Article V defines the Judicial Powers. Article deals with local government. Article X deals with taxation. Finally the title of Section 3 of Article XI is the "Exercise of police power with respect to corporations"

It seems to me that Amendment 2 is going to reach further into the control of both public and private institutions than we have been lead to believe. There will be the question about tax money being spent on embryonic stem cell research and questions of who will profit from any discoveries, if any are found.

There is also the plain dishonesty of the authors of this amendment. In (4) under subsection 2 they state that no person may, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell human blastocysts or eggs for stem cell research or stem cell therapies and cures but if you look at the definitions, (17) of subsection 6 they allow the purchase donor eggs or sperm by a fertilization clinic which could then "donate" for research and be compensated for the expense they incur.

I am in favor of further research with adult stem cells which are already providing treatments in patients and does not require the destruction of an embryo.

I will conclude with the fact that the life of every human on this planet began as cell with a complete set of DNA that began to divide. It makes no difference if the egg is fertilized naturally or cloned (or by somatic cell nuclear transfer as they prefer to call it, they are the same thing) it is still human.

Please vote NO on Amendment #2

Carl Todt Jr.

Sikeston