The measure was proposed to stop repeated attempts by the Missouri Legislature to ban certain types of stem cell research, namely SCNT.

[3] The advertisement was controversial because Fox was visibly suffering tremors, which were side effects of the medications used to treat Parkinson's Syndrome.

Rush Limbaugh, a conservative radio host and Missouri native, criticized Fox for allowing himself to have been used by special interests supporting the measure.

[citation needed] Later in the effort, when the coalition was unable to raise the money for the "Vote No" ads, Life Communications Fund took the lead in doing so.

Fox advertisement (which never directly mentioned Amendment 2), a Life Communications television ad with several celebrities appeared in opposition to the measure.

At least three of the celebrities opposed the measure for religious reasons: Kurt Warner, former St. Louis Rams quarterback; Kansas City Royals baseball player Mike Sweeney, and Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ.

[citation needed] Patricia Heaton, from Everybody Loves Raymond, opposed the amendment on the grounds that low-income women would be exploited for their eggs.

[11][better source needed] Following the passage of the amendment, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research canceled plans for a major expansion in Kansas City.

Because of the very close vote, the Institute asserted that the political climate in Missouri was too hostile for investment in stem cell research.