Amendment 2 unchanged

By James Patrick Schmidt

Published May 4, 2007

As a result of a decision by the House of Representatives Committee on Rules, Constitutional Amendment 2 will remain the same as it was when it was first passed in November 2006.

The committee voted 4-3, with one present, not to put a bill on the House calendar. If that bill were passed, it could have resulted in a redefinition of human cloning.

If it became a law, the bill would call for the new amendment to be on the popular ballot in 2008.

According to the bill, the vote would determine whether human cloning should be redefined as "the creation of a human zygote, human blastocyst or human embryo by any means other than the fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm."

If the measure had passed into law, it would have outlawed embryonic stem-cell research in Missouri through the process of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.

Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, sponsored the bill.

"Of course I'm disappointed," he said. "It was important legislation and I think it should have had the opportunity to get to the floor and get the debate of the full house. Over a million people voted against Amendment 2."

Lembke said Missourians were misled about the amendment when they voted last November.

"Amendment 2 had two provisions that were communicated to the public that it would accomplish," he said. "One, that it would assure access to cures. And two, it would ban human cloning."

Although Lembke supports the parts of Amendment 2 that assure access to cures for Missourians, he said he feels the legislation failed to ban all human cloning because it does not outlaw embryonic stem-cell research.

Lembke said he thinks Missourians should have another chance to more clearly define their wishes on stem-cell research.

"I don't want to overturn Amendment 2," he said. "I want to give the people the opportunity to amend their constitution to truly ban all human cloning."