Skip to main content

Missouri the latest state to ban abortion

MISSOURI has become the latest state to pass a Bill outlawing nearly all abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy.

The Bill was approved by 24 Republican votes to 10 on Thursday.

In order for it to become law, the move still needs to be backed by Republican governor Mike Parson.

Mr Parson has already publicly voiced his support for the controversial legislation.

Under the Bill, abortions past eight weeks would be banned in all cases, which include rape or incest, unless there is a medical emergency.

Other provisions in the wide-ranging Bill include a ban on abortions based solely on race, sex or a “prenatal diagnosis, test or screening indicating Down’s syndrome or the potential of Down’s syndrome.”

Both parents will need to be notified in order for a minor to get an abortion. The current law requires written consent from only one parent.

A “trigger” function is also included in the Bill, meaning if the Roe v Wade ruling — named after a landmark 1973 case that codified abortion as a protected right nationally — gets overturned, abortion will become illegal in the state.

Doctors who perform abortions more than eight weeks into pregnancy would face five to 15 years in prison, but a woman who has an abortion would not be held criminally liable.

Democrat state Senator Jill Schupp condemned the Bill for failing to “understanding that women’s lives all hold different stories,” while Republican state Senators Dave Schatz and Caleb Rowden published a joint statement praising the “life-affirming” legislation.

Ms Schupp said: “So much of this Bill is just shaming women into some kind of complacency that says we are vessels of pregnancy.

“We cannot paint with a broad brush and interfere by putting a law forward that tells them what they can and cannot do.”

The vote came hours after Alabama’s governor signed a near-total ban on abortion — dubbed “the heartbeat Bill” to encourage sympathy — in the state on Wednesday, promoting protests and concern from pro-choice supporters.

Alabama’s Bill ban’s abortions after six weeks, a timeframe where many women can be unaware of their pregnancy.

Among the other states to pass new abortion restrictions are Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio.

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today