Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Steven Tilley's $25k Donation Raises Eyebrows

Missouri's General Assembly passed the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) on September 23rd. A week later on September 30th the Life Science Fund of Greater KC made a $25k donation to MO State House Speaker Steven Tilley. Was that a quid pro quo? Was the Life Science Fund just trying to help Tilley's quarterly fund raising by getting a check to him on the last day of the quarter? Is Tilley's fundraising prowess an embarrassment to his campaign image? It wouldn't be the only image problem his campaign has to deal with:


Pro-life advocates should note that Tilley is on the record supporting embryonic stem cell research:
[Tilley] said he was a "moderate Republican" who supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from restricting any kind of stem cell research allowed by federal law.
"I don't mind that," Tilley said. "I think ethical research is good. I came to the conclusion that I support stem cell because I have two daughters. And I'll be honest with you. If one of them was sick and I think stem cells provided an opportunity - just a chance - to save them, I'd do it in a heartbeat. And beyond that, I think if you had a stem cell cure for cancer, I guarantee that people who are against stem cells would be happy to take the cure."
The Missouri Roundtable for Life issued a statement shortly after the Missouri Senate passed the MOSIRA legislation condemning it:
Fred Sauer of the St. Louis-based Missouri Roundtable for Life, issued a news release after Wednesday’s vote, complaining “Late (Tuesday) night while Missourians were sleeping, the state Senate refused to add language to MOSIRA that would protect Missouri tax dollars from going to abortion, human cloning, and embryo-destructive experimentation.
“And now (Wednesday), the Senate passed this same bill that threatens to force our state’s citizens to pay for the destruction of human life.”

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