Bartle calls for ballot repeal of Amendment 2
JEFFERSON CITY – State Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, said Nov. 9 on a St. Louis radio station that he will work with Rep. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, to pass a joint resolution that would give Missourians voting in 2008 an opportunity to constitutionally ban human cloning.
Bartle was buoyant as he talked about the issue on KSIV-AM 1320 in the wake of the Nov. 7 passage of Amendment 2, which promotes the spread of embryonic stem cell research.
“The future for our cause is actually very, very bright,” Bartle said.
Bartle won re-election with 58.4 percent of the vote as he convincingly defeated his Democratic challenger. He said proponents of Amendment 2 were hoping for that type of result in their campaign so they could claim public opinion is with them from this day forward as they conduct their unbiblical scientific experiments.
Instead, despite spending $30 million in a campaign that featured a solid nine months of television and radio advertising, proponents watched their support, which began in the 60-65 percent range, nosedive right up until the end. A crash was averted at 51.2 percent—a narrow escape indeed.
Some observers feel that if the election would have been held on Nov. 14, opponents would have been able to gain the 49,000 votes they needed to win out of 2.1 million cast.
Jaci Winship, executive director of Missourians Against Human Cloning (MAHC), said in a statement that the pro-life coalition that relied upon grassroots tactics to secure 1,028,495 votes (48.8 percent) is staying together.
“Our coalition is truly a unique partnership of different denominations, professions, cultures and backgrounds which Missouri has never seen,” she said.
Bartle said a ballot repeal of Amendment 2 would be clear and direct.
“The practical effect at the end of the day would be to ban human cloning,” he said.
“While this may be a setback the battle goes on, and we won’t rest until truth wins the victory and deception is defeated,” she said.
Efforts are already underway to begin a petition drive to repeal Amendment 2, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.