Opposition
The coalition organization that led the opposition to the initiative was called Missourians Against Human Cloning. Jim Talent, an incumbent Republican US Senator facing re-election, has opposed the measure.
Those opposed to the Amendment also include many who disagree with wording in the amendment. They argued that the measure does not actually ban human cloning, but merely the attempt to implant cloned embryos into a human uterus. This has caused some people who are opposed to human cloning to be opposed to the Amendment. Some believe that the Amendment actually redefines human cloning from the commonly accepted scientific definition. Some opponents also believe that the Amendment includes vague language that could be interpreted by courts to make government funding of embryonic stem cell research a constitutional right (particularly the language in major sections 5 and 7 of the full-text of the Amendment link listed in "External Links"). Other opponents felt that this type of legislation is best handled through the legislative process carried out by the elected officials rather than by amending the state Constitution. Finally, stem cell research was legal in Missouri prior to the passing of the amendment.
In rebuttal to the Michael J. Fox advertisement (which never directly mentioned Amendment 2), a television ad with several celebrities appeared in opposition to the measure. At least three of the celebrities opposed the measure for religious reasons: Kurt Warner, former St. Louis Rams quarterback; Kansas City Royals baseball player Mike Sweeney, and James Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ speaking apparently Aramaic in the spot. Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond appeared on grounds that low-income women would be exploited for their eggs. Jeff Suppan, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals also appeared in opposition to the amendment.
Read more about this topic: Missouri Amendment Two
Famous quotes containing the word opposition:
“Commitment, by its nature, frees us from ourselves and, while it stands us in opposition to some, it joins us with others similarly committed. Commitment moves us from the mirror trap of the self absorbed with the self to the freedom of a community of shared values.”
—Michael Lewis (late 20th century)
“The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“Therefore the love which us doth bind,
But fate so enviously debars,
Is the conjunction of the mind,
And opposition of the stars.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)