Only two days after the governor of Alabama signed the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, Missouri has followed in its steps, approving a bill to ban abortions after 8 weeks and paving the path for the Roe v. Wade case to be reconsidered.
The Missouri House approved the measure, HB 126, on Friday, after it was previously cleared in the Senate, sending it to the desk of Governor Mike Parson to sign it. It bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected, including cases of rape or incest.
The only exception included in the bill is for medical emergencies, that is if the mother’s life is in danger as a result of the pregnancy.
CNN writes that the moves in both states come after Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court, giving conservatives a 5-4 majority and the possibility to have the 1973 decision reversed.
Republicans who voted for the bill said that after eight weeks of pregnancy the fetus can feel pain and that is why abortions were banned after this stage. They are hoping that the bill could push the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and thus have abortions banned in the state.
The bill passed 110-44 in the House and 24-10 in the Senate a day earlier. The state’s Republican governor is widely expected to sign the bill given his previous support of it, saying that the ban would make Missouri “one of the strongest pro-life states.”
“I made a promise to all Missourians that I would continue advocating and promoting a culture of life here in Missouri,” Parson said on Wednesday.
Democrats were quick to voice their opposition to the bill, saying that it was hypocritical to promote life while Missourians are struggling with inadequate healthcare and an unlivable wage.
“If I can’t feed what’s in the womb while it’s in the womb, how am I going to be able to feed it when it comes out of the womb?” said Democratic Senator Karla May. “Those are questions that we gotta be talking about. That’s the hypocrisy of it all.”
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