Special Session #2: Updating Missouri’s abortion law

As I write this, Special Session #2 called by Gov. Greitens to address issues pertaining to abortion is half over. By the time you read this in your local paper, it will likely be fully over. Here’s an update of what has transpired so far.

Because a federal judge ruled a Texas law (which was nearly identical to our Missouri law) treating abortion clinics similar to ambulatory surgical centers in regards to safety regulations, and because St. Louis passed a city ordinance making it what has been called an abortion sanctuary city, the governor felt it necessary to call us back into session to deal with the issue now rather than wait to deal with it in next year’s regular session.

In the first Special Session, the House took the lead on the issue. The House passed a bill and sent it to the Senate. This time, the Senate has passed the initial bill, and the House will start considering it on June 19. The Senate bill, SB5, addresses six aspects of abortion:

1) It clarifies the definition of an abortion clinic in comparison to an ambulatory surgical center (ASC). An ASC conducts outpatient surgeries, such as cataract removal, spinal pain relief, or facelifts. The invasiveness of an abortion can be as medically dangerous as any ASC procedure, so similar quality and safety regulations should be in place for the health of the patient.

2) It defines that abortion clinics are subject to unannounced annual safety inspections.

3) It establishes procedures for the examination of the tissue acquired in abortion to insure the abortion was complete, no body parts were kept for profit by the clinic, and no diseases were present.

4) It pre-empts the St. Louis abortion sanctuary city ordinance.

5) It sets policies for whistleblower protections in case an abortion clinic worker wishes to report a violation.

6) It establishes that the prosecutor in the case of any criminal violation of abortion law would be the Missouri Attorney General.

SB5 passed out of the Senate 20-8 on June 15. All Republicans in attendance voted for it, and all Democrats voted against. The House will hear SB5 in two committees June 19. I plan to sit in on the first committee hearing (Children & Families), and am a voting member of the second (Rules-Legislative Oversight). The bill will be discussed by the full House on Tuesday the 20^th.

There is little doubt that SB5 will pass the House. What is uncertain is whether it will pass with the Senate language unchanged. If it is unchanged, the second Special Session will be over on June 20. If the House amends the bill to improve its language, the Senate will reconvene and work out the differences in a conference with the House later in the week.

In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v Wade that abortion was legal. This was in an era before smart phones, Facebook, and Twitter; a time before today’s advanced MRIs, ultrasounds, and studies of fetal cognition and pain.

Like it or not, no state can implement a law abolishing abortion. That can only happen with a future Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v Wade. But states are allowed to define a framework of laws regulating how, when, and where abortions are performed. SB5 will update Missouri’s laws in that regard.