By Steve Bell
Kansas City, MO – The Stowers Institute campus in Kansas City saw the largest demonstration in its history Thursday when about 300 foes of Missouri Amendment 2 assembled at the corner of Volker and Rockhill. KCUR's Steve Bell was there and filed this report.
The demonstrators called the Stem-Cell Research Protection Amendment "deceptive" and decried the use of human embryos as unethical.
The piece plays actual recorded sound of rally organizer Jeannie Burlsworth rousing the crowd with questions about whether they want Missouri to legalize cloning and to become the home of unethical scientific research. Each time the group responds with a resounding "No!"
Speakers referred to medical research organizations as "big business," and several, including Jacob Turk, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver's opponent in the coming election said it would give them the right to sue for more state funding.
Jacob Turk:
at it does is allow somebody to go before a judge, like a research company that we all know, and say, 'Hey, they're not giving us enough money!' And not only for embryonic cell research. They could claim that because of embryonic stem cell research, legislators are witholding their funds for other reserach they did. So they've got a blank check if we pass this amendment. So how are we gonna vote?" (Crowd shouts, "No!")
After about 40 minutes of speeches from doctors, legislators and others, the group marched around the edge of the Stowers campus carrying signs saying "Vote No on Amendment 2."