Election battle on stem cells heats up in Missouri By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - It's the Catholic Church versus actor Michael J. Fox in the two weeks before a hotly contested vote on stem-cell research in the U.S. Midwest, and the actor appears to have the edge.
Polls show Missouri voters backing 2 to 1 what would be the first state constitutional amendment to protect embryonic stem-cell research and treatments from legislative restrictions, as long as they are permitted under federal law.
Backers say the research could help find cures to spinal-cord injuries and a range of diseases.
Fox, who has Parkinson's, is featured in a new statewide television ad that touts the potential benefits of stem-cell research and endorses Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill, a supporter of such research who is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Jim Talent.
The Senate race is one of the most closely watched contests in an effort by U.S. Democrats to capture control of Congress in November 7 elections.
"What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans, Americans like me," Fox says in the ad.
Opponents led by the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups are fighting the Missouri measure from the pulpit and on the airwaves. They say it immorally encourages human cloning as well as the unnecessary destruction of life.
The arguments echo the position of President Bush, who has limited federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells and issued his first-ever veto against legislation to expand it.
Missouri Catholic churches have been using Sunday mass to show a film against the research, and have organized a "Rosary Crusade," with more than 90,000 mailings urging prayers for the initiative's defeat.
CORE VALUES
"The Catholic belief is in the sanctity of life. That is one of our core values," said Marta Tietjen, a 33-year-old mother of two in Kansas City who is a Catholic married to a doctor. "You just don't know when that life begins. My husband and I will vote no."
A state record of nearly $30 million has been raised for campaigning over the measure, which would place traditionally conservative Missouri in a small group of mostly liberal-leaning states including California and Connecticut that have adopted measures backing stem-cell research.
"If it passes it will provide the impetus for more states to do the same thing," said Michael Werner, president of the Werner Group, a biotechnology consulting firm in Washington.
More than 90 percent of the funding for the Missouri amendment has come from Jim and Virginia Stowers, cancer survivors who founded the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City. The institute has made a $300 million expansion project contingent on the amendment passing.
Partly because of the economic element, support for the measure has cut across party lines with many Republicans embracing the measure as a way to boost the state's economy.
Nationally the stem-cell issue has also split Republicans, with research supporters including conservative president Ronald Reagan's widow, Nancy.
Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and former three-term Republican senator Jack Danforth are among a long list of supporters of the Missouri amendment that includes medical groups, patient advocacy organizations, and civic and community leaders.
"We have all come together because we believe embryonic stem cell research has the most promise for curing diseases," said Connie Farrow, spokeswoman for Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures.
Opponents say the amendment is deceptive and would allow human cloning, despite a provision stating: "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being." They have aired ads around the state urging Missourians to ban cloning through a no vote.
They also say the law would allow fertility clinics to pay women for their eggs. A group called "Hands Off Our Ovaries" campaigned against the measure last week in St. Louis.
"A lot of people are very confused," said Cathy Ruse, spokeswoman for Missourians Against Human Cloning. She said a recent internal poll showed a declining majority of voters favored the amendment, and said opponents still believe it can be defeated. |
