That the St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance declaring St. Louis a “sanctuary city” for abortion is outrageous.
That the Missouri Senate has ground to a halt and can’t get legislation to move – including a state solution to stop St. Louis – is frightening.
Politics as usual has devolved into Republicans filibustering other Republican measures on their own Senate floor. Pro-life legislation is left waiting.
All predictions have the Missouri Senate not likely to get much legislation through before its May 12th deadline. Governor Greitens needs a budget and has said he will call as many special sessions as necessary to get that done. But he also won’t let the legislature off the hook until a solution is passed to fix the so-called anti-discrimination ‘sanctuary city for abortion’ problem out of St. Louis.
Missouri was a ground zero state in the 2016 gubernatorial elections, and Greitens, a newcomer to politics, won the Governor’s race with a strong commitment to pro-life initiatives. He’s ready to deliver…only to have the Missouri Senate devolve into inactivity. His budget would defund Planned Parenthood and provide $6 million for alternatives to abortion centers.
Pro-life legislator Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, author of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act banning abortion at 20 weeks when a baby can feel pain, expressed doubts that her bill, stalled in the House like planes on a tarmac, will pass. State regulations against trafficking in fetal tissue and dignified disposal of aborted babies authored by Rep. Diane Franklin and Senator Bob Onder are also in peril. Pro-life advocates lament the gridlock and worry about the fate of women and their babies in an environment rich with clinic violations in St. Louis, horrific disposal practices, and possibly trafficking.
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The idea of St. Louis as a ‘sanctuary city’ for abortion – or any other copycat city in America – is chilling. It would be a nightmare if the gridlock in the Missouri Senate would ultimately allow St. Louis’ discriminatory actions to stand, or to turn a blind eye to the pain of abortion in the womb or trafficking in the lives of unwanted babies, in the name of politics as usual.
The Missouri Senate needs to understand the gravity of its responsibilities and give Governor Greitens the tools he needs to protect women and babies and combat discriminatory attacks on pro-life businesses in St. Louis.
LifeNews Note: Sue Swayze Liebel is the Coordinator of SBA List’s National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus
