I made it home safely after a most excellent visit to SW Florida and boy has the Show-Me State been busy in my absence!

I was able to report the other day about the announcement of a state constitutional amendment for the 2008 ballot which would prohibit human cloning in the state. With headlines like, Group wants to outlaw form of stem cell research, Anti-cloning group launches effort to overturn Missouri amendment, New Mo. group targets stem-cell work, Cell transfer procedure is targeted, and New proposal seeks to ban certain embryonic stem-cell research by the ever-so-bias news media, you wouldn’t know that this initiative is only about cloning and has nothing to do with embryonic stem cell research. However, it really is a quite simply, a very straightforward cloning ban which also prohibits state funding for research on cloned embryos. David Freddoso wrote a great article on this for National Review Online.

Also, as expected, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the state law passed earlier this year regulating abortion clinics, requiring them to meet numerous building, staffing and health standards. This is a pretty standard thing for PP to do. But what I found most interesting was that the director of the health department, which is a defendant in the case, sent a letter to our attorney general, who would typically defend the agency, saying:

“As you have been an outspoken supporter of abortion on demand and a political ally of Planned Parenthood who has accepted campaign contributions from this abortion provider, I did not believe I could trust you to defend me and my department vigorously…[the new law is] very pro-life while you are radically pro-abortion.”

The health department was represented by attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund at the trial on Thursday. The judge is expected to rule on Monday.

Ahh! It’s good to be back!