Missouri Governor Signs Bill Outlawing Abortion After 8 Weeks

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/missouri-abortion-law.html

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Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri on Friday signed into law a bill outlawing abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy, joining several other states this year in enacting measures designed to limit women’s access to the procedure.

The decision by Mr. Parson, a Republican, was not a surprise. It continued a season of legislative success for conservatives who oppose abortion and who see an opening to ultimately press their case to the Supreme Court.

“I’m honored to lead a state with so many people committed to standing up for those without a voice, and commend the Legislature for getting this bill to my desk,” Mr. Parson said when lawmakers passed the abortion bill. He called it “a strong message to the nation that here in Missouri, we will always stand for life, protect women’s health and advocate for the unborn.”

[Read more about the efforts of anti-abortion activists across the country.]

The Missouri law, which will almost certainly face a legal challenge, bans abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy — a time that is often before a woman knows she is pregnant — and thereafter; the law makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Doctors measure the length of a pregnancy from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period, rather than from the date of conception, which is usually about two weeks later but can be very hard to know with precision. In general, a woman is considered eight weeks pregnant about six weeks after conception.

The measure was passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly on May 17.

“Let’s call this bill exactly what it is: a near-total ban on safe, legal abortion,” said Leah Boersig, board president of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, in a statement after the bill passed. She said the measure “robs women of the right to make deeply personal decisions about their body, life and future.”

At least four other states this year have passed so-called fetal heartbeat bills, which outlaw abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, when an ultrasound scan may be able to detect the pulsing of what will become the fetus’s heart. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed the country’s most restrictive abortion law, effectively banning the procedure at any stage of pregnancy. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Planned Parenthood Federation of Alabama filed a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s law.

[Read more about Alabama’s strictest law in the nation.]

Under the Missouri law signed by Mr. Parson, doctors who perform abortions could be charged with felonies and sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years. Women who seek abortions would not face prosecution.

The flurry of restrictive new state laws has alarmed supporters of abortion rights. The laws are unlikely to take effect, at least not right away. After Iowa and North Dakota passed restrictive bills in previous years, the measures were overturned after court challenges. But Republicans hope the Supreme Court, which has a new conservative majority with Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, will revisit its landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the years ahead and give states the right to ban abortions entirely.