On Thursday, March 5, the Missouri House debated HB 46 & 434. This piece of legislation creates the crime of "coercing" an abortion. Sure, we can all agree that no woman should ever be coerced to have an abortion. The problem with this bill is that it does not protect a woman against coercion. It tries to coerce her not to get one. Here is a part of the bill that I find troubling:
If the abortion provider has cause to believe that a woman has been a victim of a coerced abortion and the victim is:
Younger than 18 years of age, a report of suspected abuse must be made to the Department of Social Services;
An adult who has been abused or stalked by a family or household member, the abortion provider must give the woman information about orders of protection.
What about a woman who has been raped? What about a child who has been raped by a family member?
Rep. Sara Lampe offered an amendment to make an exception for rape and incest, but it was defeated.
A woman who has been raped has already had her choice taken away once. The failure of the Missouri House Republicans and some Democrats to include this amendment is despicable. They have clearly decided that a woman cannot make her own decisions and want to take her choice away a second time.
If the abortion provider has cause to believe that a woman has been a victim of a coerced abortion and the victim is:
Younger than 18 years of age, a report of suspected abuse must be made to the Department of Social Services;
An adult who has been abused or stalked by a family or household member, the abortion provider must give the woman information about orders of protection.
What about a woman who has been raped? What about a child who has been raped by a family member?
Rep. Sara Lampe offered an amendment to make an exception for rape and incest, but it was defeated.
A woman who has been raped has already had her choice taken away once. The failure of the Missouri House Republicans and some Democrats to include this amendment is despicable. They have clearly decided that a woman cannot make her own decisions and want to take her choice away a second time.
Luckily, the bill is likely to be killed in the Senate.
Here is the bill in case you're interested
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