Missouri Governor Parson Signs House Bill 126 and Senate Bill 21 Banning Abortion After 8 Weeks

Today May 24, 2019 Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed into law the “Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act” prohibiting abortion in non-medical emergencies after 8 weeks (1). Governor Parson says by signing this law Missouri is “sending a strong signal to the nation that, in Missouri, we stand for life, protect women’s health, and advocate for the unborn” (1). The bill states that “[i]n recognition that Almighty God is the author of life, that all men and women are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life””, it is the state of Missouri’s responsibility that “no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman at eight weeks… or later, except in cases of medical emergency. Any person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion of an unborn child in violation of this… shall be guilty of a class B felony” (2). However, “[a] woman upon whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this… shall not be prosecuted” (2). Missouri joins Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Georgia as states introducing new abortion laws, all of which are facing fierce opposition, both legal and economic (3, 4, 5, 6).

1. https://governor.mo.gov/press-releases/archive/governor-parson-signs-house-bill-126-and-senate-bill-21
2. https://legiscan.com/MO/text/HB126/2019
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/16/us/kentucky-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-law.html
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/22/he-already-struck-down-one-abortion-ban-now-judge-says-new-bill-smacks-defiance/?utm_term=.946d342f7693
5. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/15/us/ohio-lawsuit-heartbeat-bill-trnd/index.html
6. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2019/05/22/two-projects-leave-georgia-over-abortion-heartbeat-bill/1199644001/