By Staff
JEFFERSON CITY—In an extremely unusual development, a pro-life bill in Missouri will apparently become law with no legal challenge by Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups.
Typically these groups have gone all out in the court system to stall, oppose, obstruct, and endlessly appeal every pro-life bill that lawmakers have passed out of the Missouri State Capitol in the last decade or so. But indications are that Senate Bill 793, which will become law Aug. 28, will escape that treatment.
Paula Gianino, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis region, complained to an Associated Press reporter that legal challenges to other states’ laws offering ultrasounds generally have been unsuccessful, and that the Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics are preparing to comply with the law Aug. 28.
At face value, those words would appear to mean that Planned Parenthood wants to save the money it would normally hand over to its lawyers around this time of year—perhaps so they can go to court and fight the next pro-life law to be passed as soon as next summer. It is not known whether other pro-abortion groups will choose to save their legal money similarly, or whether they will go ahead and spend it in an attempt to locate a judge who could stay the 2010 law.
Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, chose to neither veto nor sign the bill, which means it will become law. This will happen “by default,” according to Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Christian Life Commission (CLC) Lobbyist Kerry Messer, in accordance with the Missouri Constitution.
“We applaud the State House and Senate for a bill that gives the unborn more of a fighting chance,” said CLC Chairman Jeff Brown, associate professor of Christian Studies at Hannibal-LaGrange College. “Our gratitude is also extended to Gov. Nixon, who allowed this bill to become law. Senate Bill 793 is a good thing for all Missourians, especially for those who cannot yet speak for themselves.
“With measures that include a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion and more information given to the expectant mother regarding the risks of abortion, the focus now shifts from having a predisposition toward abortion to having a predisposition toward life. The fact that this bill gives the mother the opportunity to witness the current status of her unborn baby – including the option for viewing an ultrasound and hearing the baby’s heartbeat – means that Missouri law is becoming more pro-life and less supportive of abortion.”
The new law in approximately one month will require abortion providers to inform pregnant women of their risks prior to having an abortion. Mothers will be fully informed of their unborn child’s characteristics and have the opportunity, if they want, to hear his heartbeat or see her sonogram image.
Under other provisions of the coming law a woman has a right to know her medical risks, how to reach the abortion doctor with questions, and the location of a hospital where the doctor has medical privileges. She also has the right to know about her child’s development, including the right to see an ultrasound picture and to hear her baby’s heartbeat.
The new law, which was sponsored by Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter and a deacon at First Baptist Church, Dexter, goes on to require that resources be provided for the woman who chooses to give birth. Information should be given on adoption, and for the mother who chooses to keep her baby, extensive resources are to be made available through the Alternatives to Abortion program sponsored by Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services.
Finally, another part of the new law makes Missouri one of only five states to try to opt out of “Obamacare” in terms of prohibiting abortion coverage in the insurance exchanges created by the new federal health care manner. The others are Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Missouri is unique in that it is the first to put it to a public vote; it is listed on the Aug. 3 primary ballot as “Proposition C.”
Before that portion of Senate Bill 793 was adopted it was steered through the House by Rep. Doug Ervin, R-Kearney, a member of First Baptist Church, Kearney, and also of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board. The original Senate bill that Ervin handled was sponsored by Rep. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville.
Another one of Messer’s leading accomplishments this session was working with State Rep. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, on the Pregnant Women’s Protection Act. This new law makes Missouri only the second state in the nation to enable women to use deadly force to prevent their unborn children from harm. Messer, a 26-year veteran inside the halls of the State Capitol, continues to use his influence on bills as founder of Missouri Family Network and state director of Americans United for Life, along with wearing his customary CLC lobbyist hat with the MBC.
“We’ve had a lot of pro-life victories, and I think what’s important for us to understand is that our Christian citizenship is not easy nor simple,” Messer said. “It takes a lot of steps to walk from a culture of death to a culture of life, and our call as ambassadors of Christ in a culture such as ours calls for us to travel the road less traveled, even if we are the only traveler along any given point.”