Amendment
2: What do MU students and faculty think?
Amy Dunlap, posted Nov. 3, 2006
On November 7, people will be going to the polls to be vote
on important issues. One of the controversial issues will
be Amendment 2, the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures
initiative. According to Missouri
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s Web site, if
passed, Amendment 2 will allow federally funded embryonic
stem cell research and treatments.
Advertisements for and against the amendment have bombarded
Missouri citizens for several months now. Some advertisements,
such as the Michael J. Fox commercial supporting the amendment,
have come under criticism nationwide by Rush Limbaugh that
maybe Fox went off his Parkinson’s Disease medication
to make his conditions look worse. Limbaugh later issued a
public statement saying he was sorry for his comment about
Fox. Other celebrities such as actress Patricia Heaton and
St Louis Cardinal Jeff Suppan have taken a stance against
Amendment 2.
With all of these advertisements on televisions, in the newspapers
and even on billboards lining our roadways, what do MU students
and faculty think about the proposed amendment?
“I am for the amendment. There is no ethical question
about the amendment in my mind. The embryos that are going
to be used will be from fertility clinics that would otherwise
be thrown away,” said Rex Campbell, rural sociology
professor. Others are not so sure.
MU students Mike Boyer and Courtney Duchardt argue against
the issue. Boyer, an MU junior said, “It’s been
proven that they [embryonic stem cells] are not useful. I
don’t see the point of hurting babies for that reason.”
Duchardt, an MU freshman said, “I am not for the amendment.
I researched and read the wording and I found a lot of loopholes
in the wording. I do not trust legal jargon.”
