Support
The organization that led the movement to get the initiative on the ballot and later supported its adoption is called The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. The measure was proposed to stop repeated attempts by the Missouri Legislature to ban certain types of stem cell research, namely SCNT. During the 2006 election, Claire McCaskill, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, supported the measure. McCaskill unseated Senator Jim Talent, who opposed the measure, the same night that the amendment passed.
During the 2006 World Series, which was partially held in St. Louis, a television ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox aired. While Fox was by name supporting McCaskill, and the ad was paid for by McCaskill's campaign, the primary reason Fox gave for his support was that McCaskill supported stem cell research. The advertisement was controversial because Fox was visibly suffering tremors, the most visible symptom of the side effects of the medications used to treat Parkinson's Syndrome. Rush Limbaugh, a conservative radio host, criticized Fox for allowing himself to have been used by special interests supporting the measure. Limbaugh criticized the uncontrollable movements that Fox made in the commercial, and claimed that it was Fox had either deliberately stopped taking his medication or was feigning his tremors.
Read more about this topic: Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006)
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