FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:
Edgar G. H. Emery
Citizens for Ed Emery
417-398-2685

ED EMERY CLARIFIES “RIGHT TO LIFE” ENDORSEMENT

EMERY COMMITTED TO LIFE IN THE WOMB

Lamar, Missouri, July 10, 2002

Ed Emery, Republican candidate for District 126 House of Representatives, was surprised when another candidate proclaimed himself the “only candidate endorsed by Missouri Right to Life” Monday night at a candidate forum held in Carthage, MO. The quote was reported in the Tuesday edition of the Joplin Globe. “The truth,” said Emery, “is that Missouri Right to Life had endorsed my candidacy as well as at least two other candidates as early as June 24th. Joe was either mistaken or ill-informed, and I spoke to him briefly afterward to correct his information. This is an issue that is crucial to my family and to our state, and we wanted to make the truth known as quickly as we could. The plus here is that I can clarify what I believe about the sanctity of life.”
The forum had been organized by Missouri Farm Bureau and was held at Fairview Christian Church. Mr. Emery’s surprise stemmed from earlier notification he had received from Right to Life officials that he, as well as two other candidates (a Republican and a Democrat) had been endorsed. The official Right to life letter was dated June 24th, 2002, and was preceded by a phone call from Mr. Dave Lemmons of Missouri Right to Life, confirming the endorsements. Subsequent to the notification, another candidate was also endorsed, resulting in endorsement of four of the five candidates for House District 126. Emery said that he assumed that all candidates had received the same Right to Life notification letter in June.
Emery’s stated position on the sanctity of life includes a commitment to protect life in the womb from the point of conception. He is against taxpayer funding of abortion and against all so-called “medical procedures” which are used to justify abortion. “These procedures, this whole line of thinking, is against the ‘laws of nature and of nature’s God,’” says Emery, “I applaud those who work selflessly to return our state and our nation to a Christian worldview of God-given life.”