Thank You Missouri House !

Missouri Right to Life Applauds the Missouri
House on Two Important Measures

Early this morning, February 11th, the Special Standing Committee on Children and Families heard House Bills 46 and 434, sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Davis and Rep. Bryan Pratt, respectively. These bills have bi-partisan support and, when passed, will protect women and save lives. A committee vote is pending to send these bills to the House floor for debate.

This legislation simply assures that women will have the option of seeing an ultrasound and will receive medical and factual information regarding her health and development of the baby 24 hours before deciding to undergo an abortion. This legislation also will give protection to any woman who may be coerced into an abortion.

Testifying in favor of the bills were several post-abortive women from across the state, invited by Missouri Right to Life. Their testimonies related their experiences, as well as the experiences of numerous post-abortive women that they have counseled. Those experiences range from lack of information on fetal development, and lack of support to stories of coercion and lack of information of alternatives and help for women in crisis pregnancies.

“The stories of these women and the countless others hurting from their abortion experience bring into sharp focus the need for the passage of these bills,” said Susan Klein, Legislative Liaison for Missouri Right to Life.

Missouri Right to Life, as well as, other pro-life organizations, submitted testimony in support of these bills.

Also today, during the morning session, the House took up and passed a resolution in opposition to the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA,) HR 212 and HR 294, sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Davis and Rep. Bob Dixon. The measure passed, with bi-partisan support, by a vote of 116 to 40.

These resolutions are directed to President Obama, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and send a clear message that Missouri stands opposed, with bi-partisan support, to the so-called Freedom of Choice Act. FOCA will wipe out over thirty laws in Missouri and over 500 state and federal laws across the country that protect women and their unborn children from abortion. These protective laws have been passed and upheld in the courts since the Roe v. Wade decision.

Here in Missouri, some of those laws include but are not limited to, protection of minors from those that would take them for abortion without parental consent, tax-funding of abortion restrictions, a ban on partial-birth abortion, and requirements of information and a 24 hour reflection period.