State Treasurer and Republican candidate for governor Sarah Steelman is asking Gov. Matt Blunt to do something he’s already done once in his tenure: call a special session to pass an abortion bill.

In the waning days of this year’s legislative session, the Senate never took up the abortion bill that would have created the crime of coercing an abortion. The law also would have added new restrictions to the state’s 24-hour waiting period on abortions. The elements of the law that created the coercion crime were seen as problematic by advocates for victims of domestic violence and rape.

The bill passed the House easily but was never brought up in the Senate and likely would have faced a filibuster if it did.

In a news release, Steelman suggests Blunt should call a special session. The governor threatened to do that if the legislature didn’t pass immigration reform or property tax reform, but with those issues out of the way, and Blunt not running for re-election, a special session seems unlikely.

UPDATE: Gov. Blunt’s spokesman, Rich Chrismer, weighs in on the call for a special session:

“Gov. Blunt has done this before. That is one reason it is important to have a pro-life governor like Gov. Blunt. Gov. Blunt intends to complete his review of all bills before considering any Special Session request. Generally, there would need to be a high degree of consensus before calling a Special Session.”

Planned Parenthood has also weighed in. In no surprise, they think the call for a special session is a bad idea.