By Vicki Brown, Word&Way News Writer
Springfield — Missouri Governor Matt Blunt drew several rounds of applause and more than a little concern when he spoke to messengers to this year's annual meeting.
Speaking at Second Baptist Church where he is a member, Blunt stirred response from 
Missouri Baptists by emphasizing his stand against abortion-on-demand and his commitment to the sanctity of human life.
The governor shared that he accepted Christ during Vacation Bible School in the basement of First Baptist Church in nearby Stafford. At that moment, he began his walk with Christ, he said.
He followed faithfully at times, he said. But at "other times I have indeed fallen short." When he failed to be faithful, he felt he "essentially denied Christ" as Peter had done, he said.
He called the Bible the one "true guide" to help believers follow Christ faithfully. At about age 25, he began to study the Bible "with intensity," he said.
Blunt reminded Missouri Baptists that the governor is a person with the right to base decisions on his personal value system. "We cannot and should not separate our values from who we are as individuals, as a state and as a nation," he said.
He acknowledged that he "seeks to make the right decisions in considering new research." Although he supports a ban on human cloning, he does support stem cell research on adult cells.
Blunt caused some concern among messengers when he noted his support of somatic cell nuclear transfer. The SCNT process is a research technique that seeks to create embryonic cells by injecting chromosomes and genetic code from a cell nucleus into an unfertilized egg.
The governor said he supports the research because he doesn't believe the SCNT procedure creates life. If it did, Blunt said he would oppose the process.
He urged Missouri Baptists to refrain from attacking those with whom they disagree. Instead, Christians should "study and pray over complex issues," he said.
He emphasized his strong support of other pro-life issues, including his stand against abortion. "We have had a dozen years of pro-abortion-on-demand leadership," he said. That ended with his administration, he added.
He said that next year he will propose tax credits to encourage gifts to pregnancy support centers, conscience protection for pharmacists so that they will not have to fill prescriptions for drugs they oppose, and a bill that would restrict abortion providers from using public funds to teach in classrooms.
Missouri needs more abstinence education, the governor said, "not propaganda that seeks to disguise abortion as birth control."
Blunt also said the family unit should be protected. Calling the family the "essential building block" for society, the governor said Missouri's new constitutional marriage protection is "still under assault by federal judges" and that a similar amendment to the U.S. Constitution is needed.
He added that he believes judges are "out of control." People are blessed when they acknowledge God's sovereignty, he said. "The judges I appoint will follow the law…. Our forefathers established three co-equal branches of government, not one branch that ruled over the other two…. This governor and this administration stand for the sanctity of life."
The governor drew applause when he vowed to resist Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and liberal judges. "I will fight until the Mississippi and Missouri rivers freeze solid," he said. "Then I will fight on the ice."
During the Wednesday morning session, messengers expressed their displeasure with the governor's decision regarding SCNT by passing three resolutions affirming the sanctity of life and standing against any attempt to make human cloning legally acceptable in any form. One resolution called for polling legislators on their stand.
See the Nov. 3 issue of Word&Way for complete coverage of the 2005 annual meeting. (11-02-05)
