Life Issues Entangled In
Missouri Budget Battle

By Kerry Messer

Plans to sell off assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) for life sciences research construction is on a fast track.  While the vast majority of the funds involved would be used for otherwise appropriate causes, a great fear looms over the political landscape like a thick river bottom fog.

Currently Missouri has no protections against these funds being used to facilitate the creation of laboratories or other facilities to be used for human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research in which multitudes of human embryos would be killed in the name of ‘life sciences’.

Passage of Amendment 2 created a constitutional right to clone human beings for research, as well as the right to engage in stem-cell research by destroying human embryos and using tissue derived from aborted babies. This political quagmire puts pro-life and anti-cloning citizens and a variety of organizations in a position to openly and vigorously oppose any attempt by the legislature to authorize the sale of MOHELA assets to build life sciences research labs or any other facilities which could be used to assist in such unethical ‘research’.

While the primary purpose for the plan to sell these assets is to initiate capitol construction projects, this should not occur.  First, note that the profits of MOHELA come from those students who use the student loans. These students are overwhelmingly from private and community colleges. However, the biggest benefactor of the sell-off plan is the University of Missouri and other public institutions (private colleges would NOT qualify). Therefore, to promote equity, protect the loan authority from fiscal policy erosions, and to guarantee these public funds not be used for unethical cloning or ESC research, Missouri Family Network supports and advocates that any revenues from the sales of MOHELA should only and solely be used for student loan support services. This would be to lower loan rates, forgive debts, and/or offer grants for all qualifying students attending ALL institutions of higher learning, public or private!

Pro-life citizens need to contact their House and Senate members to encourage them NOT to allow any public funds, including the MOHELA assets or sales from the profits of assets sold from being used in ways that could support cloning or destructive 'research' on embryonic stem cells!

Kerry Messer is the founder and president of the Missouri Family Network, a conservative pro-family lobbying organization headquartered in Festus, MO with offices in Jefferson City, MO. For more information regarding Missouri Family Network and how you can help this organization financially to continue defending pro-family values in the Missouri legislature call 1-573-483-2007 or e-mail them at mofamnet@ldd.net.