On Wednesday, the Missouri House voted for their state to join a growing list that has vowed to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. If that Supreme Court ruling is overturned, the issue of abortion will be left up to each individual state.
LifeNews reports that, by a vote of 110-37, the Missouri House of Representatives voted to approve what is described as “the strongest pro-life bill in the country.” Before the vote, Rep. Nick Schroer, the sponsor of the bill, said:
It is time to join the many states providing a commonsense but strong voice for the voiceless children that have yet to be born. Today, let us make known to the citizens of this great state and every state in the nation that Missouri stands for the unborn.
Gov. Mike Parson also supported the bill, saying:
As other states in our nation, like New York and Virginia, venture further and further away from the American ideal to uphold the right to life, I’m honored to lead a state with so many people committed to standing up for those without a voice
The bill also adds protections for the unborn that start immediately, according to Campaign Life Missouri:
- Prohibits abortion at eight weeks gestation and later, when a heartbeat can be detected. This is contained in the “Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act”, which also makes legislative findings on the development of the unborn child and the harm abortion causes to women, as well as asserts the state’s interests in protecting both the mother and her unborn child;
- Bans abortion at 20 weeks gestation, when an unborn child can feel pain;
- Enacts the “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act”, which is a “trigger ban” on all abortions in Missouri, contingent upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the adoption of a federal Human Life Amendment or the enactment of a federal Human Life Bill;
- Forbids abortions for Down syndrome, race or gender;
- Recognizes that “God is the author of life” and declares that Missouri and its political subdivisions are a “sanctuary of life” that protects pregnant women and their unborn children;
- Requires that a second custodial parent has to be notified when a minor is seeking an abortion, in addition to the current one-parent consent, with judicial bypass;
- Obligates abortion facilities and family planning agencies to provide the state’s informed consent materials to a women, if they refer the woman out of state for an abortion; and
- Increases the medical malpractice insurance requirements for those who perform or induce abortions to one million dollars per occurrence and three million dollars in the annual aggregate, and adds a new requirement for “tail” insurance (an additional one million dollars per occurrence and three million dollars in the annual aggregate) for physicians who induce abortions using chemicals or drugs that can cause birth defects of the child survives.
Samuel H. Lee, director of Campaign Life Missouri, told LifeNews:
Missouri is a pro-life state, and we will not let the pro-abortion, pro-infanticide efforts in New York, Virginia and elsewhere carry over into the ‘Show-Me’ state. We call on all Missourians to not only thank their House members for their initial efforts to pass this bill, but also for all citizens to encourage all lawmakers to get HB 126 across the finish line and on the governor’s desk.
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Arkansas have already passed laws to ban abortions in their states immediately if Roe v Wade is overturned. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri have bills pending.
Considering that, at the federal level, the Senate just voted against providing even the most basic of medical care to babies that have survived the horror of an attempted abortion, the states will need to do everything they can to protect life.