Missouri Senate Backs Bill for Pre-Abortion Ultrasound, Waiting Period, Info on Baby
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 15, 2010
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) — The Missouri state Senate signed off on a bill that would provide women the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion is done. The measure, less broad than a House-approved version, also gives women considering abortions 24 hours to reflect on the ultrasound and information they would receive on fetal development.
The bill received its first approval vote today and will receive its third reading vote tomorrow, although the results are expected to be similar.
The measure also contains an amendment sponsored by Sen. Scott Rupp to make is to Missouri can opt out of some of the abortion funding under the Obama-signed health care bill.
The House-approved measure is broader than the Senate’s version in that it would also create the crime of coercing an abortion and would require abortion centers to inform prosecutors when a teenager is having an abortion so they can prosecute the rapist.
Sen. Joan Bray, a Democrat from University City and Sen. Jolie Justus, a Kansas City Democrat, vocally opposed the pro-life bill, SB 793, during the debate.
"This bill makes sure women are fully informed and give complete consent before undergoing an abortion," sponsoring Sen. Rob Mayer said.
The full House voted 113-37 in favor of the legislation on its side.
Its measure requires abortion businesses, orally and in writing, to provide women information 24 hours before an abortion on the development of the unborn child, and long-term medical and mental health problems women can expect from the abortion.
The measure also allows women to find out about abortion alternatives and to see an ultrasound of the unborn child.
HB 1327 also makes it unlawful for a woman’s family, friends, workplace or school to coerce her into having an abortion and to require abortion centers to place posters in their waiting rooms informing women they have the right to not have an abortion.
Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, a Republican, said during the debate, according tot he St. Louis Post Dispatch, that the bill would be the “strongest pro-life bill the House has passed in Missouri’s history.”
Rep. Cynthia Davis, a Republican, said not all women support abortion and oppose the bill.
“Abortion is a kind of domestic violence as well,” she said. “Women don’t naturally want to kill their offspring. Women who are loved, cared for and supported don’t mind having their own child.”
Davis was behind a similar bill last year that the House approved. The Senate passed a similar measure but neither chamber would relent on whether the bill should be applied to all abortion centers or just those open one day a week.
Pam Fichter, the president of Missouri Right to Life, told LifeNews.com that the Senate bill last year "endangers Missouri women seeking abortions."
The Senate bill "creates a two-tiered system of enforcement based on how frequently an abortion clinic does abortions," Fichter explained then.
Related web sites
Missouri Right to Life – https://www.missourilife.org
Missouri Legislature – https://www.moga.mo.gov
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