Appeals Court Upholds Lower Court Ruling on Human Cloning Petition

March 28, 2006, JEFFERSON CITY, MO – On Tuesday March 28, 2006 a three-judge panel of the Western District of Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the ballot title for the proposed stem cell research initiative claiming to ban human cloning was sufficient and fair.

Missouri law requires the Missouri Secretary of State to develop a ballot title not exceeding one hundred words that summarizes the full text of the proposed constitutional amendment.

“We are very disappointed that the Court of Appeals ruled against the weight of the evidence,” stated Deacon Larry Weber, Executive Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference. “There was more than sufficient evidence before the court presented by both sides which affirmed that somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is human cloning.”

Missourians Against Human Cloning originally brought the suit claiming the ballot title was deceptive. The Catholic bishops of Missouri intervened in support of the plaintiffs, as did representatives of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

The ballot title states that the constitutional amendment would ban human cloning. However the ballot language redefines human cloning to refer to human cloning as effected if the cloned embryo is implanted in a woman’s uterus.