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:
“Women will not advance except by joining together in cooperative action.... Unlike other groups, women do not need to set affiliation and strength in opposition one against the other. We can readily integrate the two, search for more and better ways to use affiliation to enhance strength—and strength to enhance affiliation.”
—Jean Baker Miller (20th century)
“At times it seems that the media have become the mainstream culture in children’s lives. Parents have become the alternative. Americans once expected parents to raise their children in accordance with the dominant cultural messages. Today they are expected to raise their children in opposition to it.”
—Ellen Goodman (20th century)
“To die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. Death freely chosen, death at the right time, brightly and cheerfully accomplished amid children and witnesses: then a real farewell is still possible, as the one who is taking leave is still there; also a real estimate of what one has wished, drawing the sum of one’s life—all in opposition to the wretched and revolting comedy that Christianity has made of the hour of death.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)