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01/18/2006
Missouri Human
Cloning Deception on Trial JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jan. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- In
the wake of the South Korean cloning scam, and following two weeks of
depositions, including Bioethics Defense Fund’s January 13 deposition of a
well-known embryonic stem cell researcher who has applied for permission to
create cloned human embryos for experiments at his Harvard lab, a Missouri
judge will hear live testimony this Thursday on the issue of whether human
cloning proponents are deceiving Missouri voters.
The court challenge involves a proposed Missouri ballot initiative, slated for November 2006 if enough signatures are garnered. The voter initiative would give constitutional protection to scientists who want to clone human embryos to extract embryonic stem cells (sometimes called “therapeutic cloning”), while banning cloning to produce children (“reproductive cloning”). The 100 word ballot summary that the Secretary of State must provide for voters gives the overbroad and deceptive statement that the initiative “bans human cloning.” “The Secretary of State’s summary providing that the initiative ‘bans human cloning’ is an attempted deception on Missouri voters that does a disservice to both the objective nature of science and the principles of open honest public debate in the democratic process,” said Dorinda C. Bordlee, Esq., Executive Director and Senior Counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund. Bioethics Defense Fund is representing the plaintiffs “Missourians Against Human Cloning.” Bordlee explained that “the plaintiffs are asking the court to amend the ballot summary to inform voters the initiative constitutionally protects scientists who clone human embryos for research, while banning human cloning to produce children. “This case is about truth in the democratic process, which should not be sacrificed by those with financial incentives to change the meanings of words for political advantage,” said Bordlee. “Considering the cloned human embryo deception of Dr. Woo Suk Wang in South Korea, this further effort at deception by would-be cloners in the United States is not a surprise.” The case is Missourians Against Human Cloning v. Carnahan, No. 05AC-CC001108, which will be heard Thursday, January 19, 2006 in the Circuit Court of Cole County Missouri, Judge Kinder presiding. Bioethics Defense Fund is a public interest legal organization that advocates for human rights from beginning to end, www.BDFund.org
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