IT'S CATHOLIC V. CATHOLIC IN MISSOURI. In the final day before Missourians decide whether to enshrine in the state's constitution the right of scientists to conduct embryonic stem cell research, a battle taking place within the Catholic faith has come into full view. The church fathers object to embryonic stem cell research in a logical extrapolation of their opposition to abortion: they contend that embryos are people. (Really, the opposition to embryonic stem cell research, whether by Catholics or anyone else, is pretty much fueled by the abortion debate.) Last month, I reported in this post on the response to Michael J. Fox's ad in support of Democratic senatorial candidate Claire McCaskill, which featured a cast of prominent Catholics from the entertainment and sports worlds. The latest volley on the issue features the Missouri bishops taking on a group of prominent Catholics led by former senator Thomas Eagleton, who was briefly on the Democratic presidential ticket as George McGovern's running mate in 1972 before it was revealed that he had been treated for depression. According to the Associated Press, the bishops sent a letter to the state's parishioners last week, urging them to vote against the ballot measure known as Amendment 2, and claiming that the measure legalizes human cloning (despite the fact that the amendment reads: "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being.") The Eagleton group sent their responding missive to fellow Catholics via e-mail. The AP reports:
The letter from [Eagleton's] Catholics for Amendment 2 said the group felt a moral obligation to respond to what it called misinformation, scare tactics and distortions being spread by opponents of the initiative, including the church.
--Adele M. Stan
