Posted on 09/25/2007 7:45:15 PM PDT by neverdem
TRENTON, Sept. 24 — A state judge ruled on Monday that a $450 million bond proposal to finance stem cell research must stay on the November ballot, dealing a blow to abortion opponents.
Judge Neil H. Shuster of Superior Court in Mercer County ruled that abortion opponents who challenged the initiative on the grounds that it would permit human cloning waited too long to file their case and did not made a convincing enough claim of imminent harm.
Saying that an injunction was the “strongest weapon” available to the court and should be used sparingly, Judge Shuster declined to stop the printing of ballots. Counties across the state are printing ballots now so they can mail them this week, the earliest that state law allows ballots to be distributed.
Judge Shuster said that to halt printing now could cause complications for the thousands of voters who vote by mail, particularly those in the military.
While the judge allowed a vote on the stem cell financing referendum to proceed, he left open the possibility that anti-abortion groups could appeal or even challenge the results if voters approved the measure.
Bertram P. Goltz Jr., a lawyer who argued on behalf of the group of 16 plaintiffs, including the New Jersey Right to Life Committee, said after the ruling that he had not yet decided his next step.
In July, Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed legislation authorizing a ballot proposal for $450 million in stem cell research funding. Lawyers for the anti-abortion advocates, however, did not file their claim until last week. That led Judge Shuster to conclude that their case for imminent harm was “self-created.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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