
STEM CELL RESEARCH: POLITICAL ACTIVITY
Amendment 2 in Missouri (2006)

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Overview:
This is an amendment to the constitution of the state of Missouri known as: "Missouri
Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative." It covers
two topics:
The amendment was narrowly approved by the voters during the 2006 mid-term
elections on 2006-NOV-07. With 99% of the precincts reporting, CNN listed:
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Votes in favor: 1,077,276 (51%) |
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Votes opposed: 1,028,495 (49%) 1 |

What Amendment 2 says about human reproductive cloning:Most of the public understands the word "cloning" to mean "reproductive cloning:"
the processes leading to the birth of an identical twin of an existing newborn,
child or adult. This would involve many steps:
- Obtaining a human ovum from a woman.
- Removing the DNA from that ovum.
- Obtaining a living cell from an existing person.
- Removing the DNA from that cell and injecting it into the prepared ovum.
- Giving the ovum an electrical shock.
- In a very small percentage of cases, the pre-embryo would start to grow
via cell division.
- The pre-embryo is inserted into the womb of a woman. A pregnancy might
develop.
- About nine months later, a baby would probably be born. The newborn
would be an exact twin of the person who contributed the original DNA, even
though they may be decades or generations apart in age.
This is how "Dolly" the sheep was born. The same set of procedures
has been used
to create clones of many other species. There are two main things to remember about reproductive cloning:
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It has never been accomplished in humans. |
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Although some have claimed otherwise, there is no evidence that it has ever
been attempted
in humans. |
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It would be a profoundly unethical act, because cloned mammals generally
have had a poor medical outcome. Some are afflicted with
genetic diseases; others die young. |
Amendment 2 prohibits reproductive cloning. In the Missouri
constitution, Section 38(d) of Article III states:
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2(1): "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being." |
Amendment 2 contains a definition of the key phrase in 2(1):
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"6(2): " 'Clone or attempt to clone a human being' means to implant in a
uterus or attempt to implant in a uterus anything other than the product of
fertilization of an egg of a human female by a sperm of a human male for the
purpose of initiating a pregnancy that could result in the creation of a
human fetus, or the birth of a human being."
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There is one very serious loophole in Amendment 2,
apparently caused either by a lack of foresight or simple carelessness by the
author(s). A person
might attempt reproductive cloning through ectogenesis. This would involve
inserting an embryo into an artificial womb instead of
into a woman's uterus. Artificial wombs do not exist at this time, and thus
human ectogenesis has never been tried. However, Amendment 2 does not
criminalize such activity in the future. Its wording may have to be altered some
day. 
What Amendment 2 says about human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer: Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) involves the same first
six steps as does reproductive cloning. That is:
- Obtaining a human ovum from a woman.
- Removing the DNA from the ovum.
- Obtaining a living cell from an existing person.
- Removing the DNA from that cell and injecting it into the prepared ovum.
- Giving the ovum an electrical shock.
- In a very small percentage of cases, the pre-embryo starts to grow via
cell division.
The pre-embryo is then allowed to grow in the lab for a few days and develop
into a blastocyst -- a small mass of undifferentiated cells. These stem cells
containing human DNA are then removed from the blastocyst and used in research. Amendment 2 permits SCNT. Section 38(d) of Article III states:
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2: "... Missouri researchers can conduct stem cell research in the state
..." |
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2(3): No stem cells may be taken from a human blastocyst more than
fourteen days after cell division begins..." |
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can develop into any of the 220
cell types in the human body. At about 14 days following the initial cell
division, a yellow streak appears on the embryo that will eventually develop into the the
neural tube which will be later protected by the backbone. The stem cells have
begun to differentiate. The tube will eventually develop into the brain and
central nervous system. Once this develops, it is impossible for the embryo to
spontaneously split into a pair of identical twins.
To some people, the concept of personhood implies a single living entity.
Twins develop into two persons. Some consider that human life, in the form of a
spermatozoon and ovum, have become a person at this stage of
development. It can no longer split into twins.

What Amendment 2 says about human in vitro fertilization blastocysts:
Fertility clinics create embryos by mixing human sperm and ova in their
laboratory. They are allowed to grow to the blastocyst stage. A few of the best looking embryos are implanted in the woman's womb
in the hope that at least one will produce a pregnancy. The surplus embryos are
normally deep frozen for future use. Sometimes, when the first attempt fails,
lab personnel will thaw out a few of the frozen embryos and implant them in the
womb. In extremely rare cases, the couple involved may allow some surplus embryos implanted in
another woman. However, in
most cases, the spare embryos are either discarded or left frozen until --
perhaps decades later -- a human error or equipment failure results in their
death.
Amendment 2 permits the extraction of stem cells from surplus blastocysts
produced by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in fertility clinics. Section 38(d) of Article III states:
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2(2): "No human blastocyst may be produced by fertilization solely for
the purpose of stem cell research." |
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2(3): "... provided, however, that time during which a blastocyst is
frozen does not count against the fourteen-day limit." |
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2(5): "Human blastocysts and eggs obtained for stem cell research or
stem cell therapies and cures must have been donated with voluntary and
informed consent, documented in writing." |
The first clause requires that the blastocysts be surplus embryos left over
after IVF in fertility clinics, not created in a research lab just for their stem cells.
The second clause defines the effective age of a blastocyst. If a fertility
lab deep freezes blastocysts, say at the age of 7 days, they can remain frozen
for months or years and still be considered 7-day-old embryos when they are
thawed. They can still have their stem cells extracted and used in early
stem cell research.
The third clause requires that the individuals who provided the sperm and
ovum knowingly donate their embryos. Other clauses require that the embryos be
donated and not sold.

Why are embryonic stem cells important?
There are two different type of stem cells:
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Embryonic stem cells: These are pluripotent. That is, they have
the unique potential of being able to develop into any of the 220
cell types in the human body (e.g. blood cells, heart cells, brain cells,
muscle cells, bone cells, etc). |
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Adult stem cells: These can be harvested from newborns, children
and adults with fewer ethical concerns. However, they have already started
to specialize and thus do not have the same level of flexibility as do
embryonic stem cells. |
A National Institutes of Health news release states:
"...research involving human pluripotent stem cells...promises new
treatments and possible cures for many debilitating diseases and injuries,
including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple
sclerosis, burns and spinal cord injuries. The NIH believes the potential
medical benefits of human pluripotent stem cell technology are compelling
and worthy of pursuit in accordance with appropriate ethical standards."
3
The first embryonic stem cells were only obtained in 1988. Research has
barely begun on embryonic stem cells. Treatments and cures are still decades in
the future. However, research using adult stem cells
has been going on for decades; treatments and cures are now being tried on
humans.

Objections to Amendment 2:
The Family Research Council (FRC) assigns a different meaning to the
word "cloning" than the Amendment 2 does:
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The text of Amendment 2 defines "cloning" as beginning when an embryo is
implanted in a woman's womb "for the purpose of initiating a pregnancy
that could result in the creation of a human fetus or the birth of a human
being." That is, the term "cloning" refers only to reproductive cloning
which the Amendment bans. |
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The FRC defines "cloning" as beginning when an embryo is created with
DNA that matches that of an existing person. That is, step 4 in the
above sequence. Thus, "cloning" can refer either to
reproductive cloning or therapeutic cloning (a.k.a. "Human embryonic
stem cell research"). 7 |
We suspect that the FRC is troubled because:
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The amendment would legalize the
creation of an embryo that could produce the birth of a cloned person if
someone were to commit a criminal act by implanting it in a womb. |
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They believe that human life (in the form of a spermatozoon and
ovum) becomes a human person at the instant of conception. Thus extracting
stem cells from a blastocyst is murder of a human being. |
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They probably believe that a human ovum with its DNA replaced by DNA
from another person, becomes a human person. Again, extracting stem cells from a
blastocyst is murder of a human being. |
So, like the debates over abortion access, the
conflict can be traced to a religious belief: when
does human life become a human person? This conflict has not been resolved
after decades of arguing over abortion access. No consensus is likely in the
near future over stem cells either. 
References used:
- "America Votes 2006," CNN.com,
2006-NOV-08, at:
http://www.cnn.com/
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"2006 Ballot Measure: Constitutional Amendment 2: Stem Cell Initiative,"
Submitted 2005-OCT-11, at:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/
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"NIH publishes final guidelines for stem cell research,"
National Institutes of Health, 2000-AUG-23, at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2000/od-23.htm
- "Washington Update: Missouri Cloning Bill: Trick or Treatment?,"
Family Research Council, 2006-OCT-18.

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Copyright © 2006 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Original posting: 2006-NOV-11
Latest update: 2006-NOV-11
Compiled by B.A. Robinson

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