November 28, 2005, JEFFERSON CITY, MO – A challenge has been filed to the recent ballot initiative to permanently legalize and fund human cloning in Missouri, in Cole County challenging the deceptive language of the initiative.

The petition states that the proposed amendment misleads and deceives voters “by stating to the voters that the Proposed Amendment would ‘ban human cloning or attempted cloning’, while the text of the Proposed Amendment in fact allows human cloning as the term ‘cloning’ is popularly understood and understood within the scientific community; and specifically allows a cloning procedure known as ‘somatic cell nuclear transfer’.”

The petition also states that the proposed amendment also misleads and deceives Missouri voters into “believing research is allowed only on certain cells when in fact, the proposed amendment allows research that destroys human subjects, specifically human beings at the embryonic and fetal stage of life, e.g., human embryos derived from both in vitro fertilization (union of sperm and egg) and human cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer).”

The challenge also points out that Missouri tax payers will have to foot the bill for this unethical research and limits the ability of the General Assembly and other government officials to deny public funds for this research.

“We strongly support the efforts of those who filed this challenge,” said Deacon Larry Weber, Executive Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference. “We hope that Missouri courts will clarify these misstatements and deceptive statements of the proponents of this initiative.”