How to challenge embryonic stem-cell petition gatherers

From the St. Louis Review:

Editor’s note: With a little research, and the courage to show one’s faith, Catholics who are approached by petition-gatherers for a constitutional amendment election to protect embryonic stem-cell research in Missouri can avoid supporting it.

The best argument a Catholic can give in declining to sign the petition is that embryonic stem-cell research is immoral because it results in the creation of an embryo only for scientific harvesting of cells. The embryo is destroyed in the process.

Only God can create life, and people should never be responsible for destroying it.

Follow that with the fact that research with adult stem cells from living persons has resulted in numerous cures, and there is promise for more. Thus far, years of research with embryonic stem cells have yet to produce one instance of a cure.

The Archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate is offering informational flyers for anyone interested in speaking out against those who are collecting signatures for the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

The apostolate offers the following information and suggestions when encountering signature collectors:

Many of the signature gatherers are paid personnel from out of state. They cannot vote on the issue.

Signature gatherers primarily operate on public property such as libraries, post offices and license bureaus. This is legal as long as they do not interfere with people wishing to use those facilities.

Those distributing the petitions must, however, have permission to stand on private property. If you notice that a signature collector is on private property, inquire with the manager right away whether that person has permission to solicit signatures for a political initiative there. Local grocery stores, including Dierbergs, Schnucks and Shop ’n Save, do not allow signature collecting for any political effort.

The language on the petition is deceptive. The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, the organization sponsoring the initiative, claims that the amendment will ban human cloning.

However, this is because the coalition has redefined cloning as the implantation of a cloned embryo into a uterus. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is cloning. The initiative will, in fact, legalize the cloning of human embryos and allow destructive research to be conducted on human embryos.

The proposal also allows taxpayer money to be used to carry out unethical research, including cloning human embryos and extracting their stem cells for research.

Adult stem-cell research has already successfully treated 65 diseases. Embryonic stem cells have not treated or cured a single disease.

Remind people that once they have signed the petition, they can’t change their minds and remove their signatures.

If the initiative makes it on the Nov. 7 ballot and passes, it will amend the Missouri constitution. This is a much more permanent change than a new law.

More information can be found on the following Web sites: Missouri Catholic Conference www.mocatholic.org; Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics www.stemcellresearch.org; and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops www.usccb.org/prolife.

For more information or for copies of the flyer, call the Respect Life Apostolate at (314) 792-7555 or e-mail prolife@archstl.org.

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