Missouri Could Be the Latest State to Pass an Extreme Abortion Ban

By Lisa Ryan, The Cut

16 May 19

n the heels of Alabama’s extreme abortion ban, which was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey this week, similarly harsh legislation was passed by the Missouri senate on Thursday — meaning it may soon become the latest state to enact a near-full ban on the medical procedure.

As the Kansas City Star reports, the Republican-led Missouri Senate voted on Thursday morning to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy. Missouri already has extremely restrictive abortion laws, with only one abortion provider operating in the entire state.

The eight-week ban, passed by a 24-10 vote after a full day and night of debate, does not include any exceptions for instances of rape, incest, or human trafficking (though it does allow for the procedure in cases of medical emergency), and doctors who perform the procedure face up to 15 years in prison. The bill now faces a vote in the Missouri House (where it was first approved in February but requires a second vote), before arriving on the desk of Republican governor Mike Parson.

The Missouri senate’s vote on the eight-week ban comes shortly after Alabama lawmakers voted to approve a six-week ban on the procedure, which likewise did not include any exceptions. The Alabama abortion law, which was designed as a direct threat to Roe v. Wade, followed a similar draconian law enacted in Georgia, and others in Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa, and North Dakota. The six-week bans are referred to as “heartbeat bills” by anti-abortion advocates. In effect, the bills would basically prohibit most abortions, since they only allow for an extremely short window for women to even detect a pregnancy.

Per the Star, if the Missouri House votes (again) to approve the bill, Governor Parson has said he will sign it into law. “My administration will execute the laws the legislature passes and this pro-life administration will not back down,” the lawmaker has stated.