KANSAS CITY — Jackson County residents rejected Tuesday, by an 84 percent to 16 percent margin, an $800 million “life sciences research” tax which would have opened the door to taxpayer-funded anti-life research which destroys human embryos.
With 289 precincts reporting in Jackson County and Kansas City, there were 64, against the tax and 12,066 votes for it.
“We are thankful that the voters in Jackson County rejected this awful tax increase that would have been an extra burden on working families while destroying life,” said Don Hinkle, director of public policy for the 650,000-member Missouri Baptist Convention. “Only God, who is the creator and sustainer of life, can end life, not the greedy cloners.”
Missouri Right to Life were among the many other pro-life groups urging voters to reject the half-cent sales tax increase.
“I want to thank Jackson County’s voters for rejecting this irresponsible tax increase. Their vote has helped to send a message to pro-cloning groups: we will not let taxpayer money fund anti-life research,” said Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life.
This was a David versus Goliath battle. The health care corporations and pro-cloning interest groups which would have made millions from this tax put together nearly $2 million for the effort and mounted a full-fledged media offensive. Thankfully, Fichter said, voters were able to see through their efforts to obfuscate the many problems with this tax.
Question 1 was overly vague and contained nothing to protect taxpayers from funds being misused or directed to forms of research they don’t support. In addition, it was regressive; it asked Jackson County working families to shoulder the burden and pour hundreds of millions of dollars into developments at some of Kansas City’s wealthiest hospitals, two of which recently paid their chief executive officers more than $6 million.
