Anti-Cloning Lobby Day at the State Capitol to be held on March 7, 2007

FEBRUARY 27, 2007, JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Missouri Catholic Conference will join together with other pro-life groups to sponsor a Lobby Day at the State Capitol on Wednesday, March 7, 2007, to support enactment of a ban on human cloning.

Two resolutions have been filed that would ban all forms of human cloning in Missouri. Sen. Matt Bartle (R-Lee’s Summit) has filed SJR 10 and Rep. Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis County) has filed HJR 11 and HJR 23. All three resolutions seek a comprehensive ban on all forms of human.

“Legislators need to hear from their constituents that Missourians value human life from its earliest beginnings to its natural end,” stated Deacon Larry Weber, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Catholic Conference.

Archbishop Raymond Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Bishop John Gaydos of the Diocese of Jefferson City will be present and participating in the lobby efforts. Archbishop Burke will give the invocation at the rally in the middle of the day. Dr. David A. Prentice will speak to those present and present two question and answer workshops regarding the scientific, legislative and legal questions surrounding human cloning along with Deacon Larry Weber, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Catholic Conference, James S. Cole with Missouri Right to Life, Sen. Matt Bartle and Rep. Jim Lembke. Prentice is a Senior Fellow for Life Sciences at Family Research Council, formerly Professor of Life Sciences at Indiana State University, and Adjunct Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics for Indiana University School of Medicine.

In addition, participants are encouraged to lobby against the sale of the assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) to provide funding for life science building projects on state college campuses. The MCC and pro-life groups are gravely concerned that this funding will go towards human cloning and embryonic stem cell experiments because of the passage of Amendment 2 to Missouri’s constitution. MOHELA’s historic mission is to provide affordable low-interest loans to college students. In order for the sale of MOHELA’s assets to be legal the legislature will have to approve a statute that allows these funds to be used outside the scope of MOHELA’s mission and directed toward construction projects on state college and university campuses. A recent study called into question MOHELA’s long-term viability should the sale proceed.

The Missouri Catholic Conference encourages all Missouri Catholics to attend this important Lobby Day on March 7 th at the State Capitol. The Lobby Day will begin at 9:00 am on the 1 st Floor Rotunda where packets of updated information will be provided to all attendees. Individuals will spend the day lobbying their legislators and Gov. Matt Blunt who also opposes a ban on human cloning.

Other sponsors of the lobby day include: Missouri Baptist Convention (CLC), Advance USA, Alliance for Life, American Family Association of Missouri, Americans United for Life, National Right to Life, Campaign Life Missouri, Concerned Women for America, Lutherans for Life of Missouri, Missouri Association of Christian Schools, Missouri Eagle Forum, Missouri Family Network, Missouri Values Action Team, St. Louis Center for Bio-Ethics & Culture, The Women’s Clinic of Kansas City, and Voices for Life.