House speaker, others to defend existing laws
- Feb 13, 2009 -
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri’s pro-life legislators from both Democratic and Republican parties are sending a message to the state’s U.S. Congressmen: Protect Missouri’s abortion laws!
Abortion is legal in Missouri, but over the 36 years since Roe v. Wade became the law of the land, Missouri lawmakers have enacted legislation designed to protect the health and safety of expectant mothers and their unborn children as well as legislation supporting them when they choose life over abortion.
President Barack Obama has indicated that he will sign legislation known as the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) if the U.S. House and Senate pass it. FOCA would nullify existing abortion laws in every state and would allow abortions at any time for any reason. Members of the Missouri General Assembly hope to stop FOCA before it reaches the president’s desk.
According to a recent national poll conducted by Harris Interactive for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, only nine percent of those polled believe that abortion should be unlimited. The remaining 91 percent favor varying degrees of regulation or even prohibition of the practice altogether.
Missouri’s Speaker of the House, Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has crafted a resolution strongly opposing FOCA and urging the United States Congress to reject it. While the resolution is non-binding, signers hope that it will convince federal lawmakers to retain the protections already in place in Missouri and other states.
Both Democratic and Republican pro-life legislators have signed on to the resolution, which was still being circulated at press time in preparation for being presented in the Missouri House of Representatives.
“We are committed to protecting the lives of the unborn,” said Rep. Belinda Harris, D-Hillsboro and a member of Morse Mill Baptist Church. “There have been policies put in place to reduce the number of abortions in Missouri. Not only must those remain, we will work to continue these efforts.”
Among those policies are the following provisions:
• that parents give consent before a minor can have an abortion;
• that government money and government facilities not be used to fund or perform abortions;
• that health and safety regulations be practiced at abortion facilities;
• that expectant mothers receive information regarding the physical development of their unborn child, the procedure itself, and the risks involved; and that there be a 24-hour waiting period before the abortion, in order for them to consider the gravity of their decision;
• that partial-birth abortion not be practiced in Missouri;
• that only physicians can perform or induce abortions and that such physicians maintain medical malpractice insurance;
• that conscience protections be available for doctors and hospitals not wanting to perform or induce abortions;
• that abortions not be induced or performed in order to use fetal organs or tissue for transplantation or experimentation;
• that abortion clinics, in most cases, be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers to ensure basic health and safety of patients; and
• that Alternatives to Abortion programs be provided to encourage and support women who do not want to choose abortions.
With regard to the question of conscience, The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it is considering the possibility of closing its hospitals if FOCA should require hospital staff to perform abortions.
The Freedom of Choice Act comes with a hefty price tag. A group of 50 abortion advocacy groups has asked for $1.5 billion in federal funding in a 55-page report presented to President Obama’s transition team prior to the inauguration.
Among the 50 groups is Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, which operates about 450 of the 4,400 abortion clinics in America.
Planned Parenthood already receives $337 million in government funds which would otherwise have to be earned through its own fund-raising efforts. While the federal money is not allowed to be used for abortions, it makes it possible for Planned Parenthood to divert its self-earned funds to the abortion side of its services.
The State of Missouri likewise does not allow public monies for abortions, but it does provide nearly $2 million per year for Alternatives to Abortion. Most of this money goes to pregnancy resource centers around the state.
Others are joining the effort to persuade Missouri’s U.S. Congressmen to vote against FOCA. At press time, Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O’Fallon, was circulating her own resolution to be presented to the Missouri House.
Among its signers was Harris, who said, “Everybody is getting anxious to get a resolution out there. I’ve signed my name on it. I’m very supportive of this resolution.”
Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit and a member of Abundant Life Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit, announced Jan. 22 that he would be filing a Senate concurrent resolution opposing federal efforts to overturn state abortion laws. He noted in a press release that Jan. 22 was the 36th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade.
“If this proposal becomes law, common-sense regulations right here in the Show-Me State that require parental notification when a young girl is seeking an abortion and that provide a woman an opportunity to be fully informed before deciding to go through with an abortion would be struck down,” he said.
“In addition,” he added, “it could lead to Missouri citizens being forced to pay for abortions with their tax dollars.”
Those who oppose Missouri’s abortion laws being overturned by passage of the so-called Freedom of Choice Act are advised to e-mail, call, or write their U.S. Congressmen.
This article is reprinted from the February 3, 2009, issue of The Pathway, the newspaper of the Missouri Baptist Convention.
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