Watered down abortion bill passes Missouri Senate
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Senate passed controversial abortion legislation early Thursday morning after lengthy negotiations that gutted the version of the bill that passed the House early this session.
Originally, the bill would have created the crime of coercing an abortion, but the version passed by the Senate merely strengthens the state’s existing informed consent laws. Even after negotiating a version of the bill that ended threats of a filibuster, Democrats Joan Bray of University City and Jolie Justus of Kansas City were unhappy with the bill, which adds new requirements to the 24-hour waiting period for abortions.
“A vote for this bill is a vote for the state to lie to these women in print,” said Bray. “I’m sick of women being treated like they’re so stupid that they can’t be responsible for their own reproductive decisions.”
The law requires a doctor or “qualified professional” to give women seeking an abortion various warnings of potential complications and a medical description of the procedure. An abortion clinic also must provide information about various services that might be available should women need aid, including information about adoption. The bill also offers the possibility of an ultrasound 24 hours before the abortion.
The bill passed the Senate 25-7 and now goes to the House for another vote. If the House accepts the Senate version, it will go to Gov. Jay Nixon for his signature.
Senators had objected to the original coercion language over the past couple of years because of concerns that it would criminalize behavior of doctors and parents who advised minor children concerning an unintended pregnancy.
“All of the criminal provisions have been removed from this bill,” said Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, who presented the bill in the Senate. “This legislation is intended to effectively protect unborn children and women from being wounded for life.”
The original bill was sponsored in the House by Republicans Cynthia Davis and Bryan Pratt.
No senators in favor of the bill spoke about it during the Senate debate, except for Mayer who described the deal when he approved it. But several Democrats who support abortion rights complained that if the Senate wanted to reduce abortions, it would pass bills that increase access to contraception and family planning.
“We are going to have fewer family planning visits from the women of Missouri,” said Justus.
The following senators voted no: Bray, Justus, Jeff Smith, Rita Days, Yvonne Wilson, Robin Wright-Jones, and Dan Clemens. Clemens, of Marshfield, was the only Republican to vote no.
Justus said the Democrats relented on filibustering the bill in part because Republicans had threatened to cut off debate to pass the more controversial elements of the bill. The bill includes a provision that allows the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia — one of two abortion clinics in the state — to have until 2012 to fulfill the requirements of the law.
Justus also said that Pratt has told her the House will pass the new version of the bill.
People who are pro-life will get me to understand them better if instead of picketing abortion clinics they were adopting/fostering children especially minority and special needs kids. When instead of locking them up (as adults) in prison, you educate them and give them a place to lay their heads at night. Children are precious but someone has to pay for their care and help them to become productive adults. Pro-lifers say save the children and then walk away from that same time when its born. I would just like to say mind your own business and get out of the business of a woman. You don’t believe in it don’t have one. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do.
Crenede, there’s a place for your long-winded religious rant. It’s called church. Under no circumstances should our legislators EVER make laws based on religious teaching. If our laws are “Christian” or “biblical,” please tell me how we are any different from the Taliban?
Believe what you believe. I could care less. But your religion has no place in government.
People can only be responsible when they know the Truth the living word of God, and are taught the right way to live, one Nation under God? Open up your eyes, look around you most of you are lost….. We have made up our own God, and have filled up our lives with Idols, with no respect or reverence to our gift of life and our creator. Science can choose to do whatever, however they cannot ever create life and can only work with what God gave then originally. Yeah Science is great. God gave us that also, and every top Scientist around the globe who said there is definitely a Creator lost all of their funding and was blacklisted these are real truths. Now Who is the enemy?
See the Movie by Ben Stein “Expelled”. Jesus appeared to me and he is real It is my job to get the truth to you Choose life! When we know the TRUTH, it will set us free, you can use your free will you do have a choice, but only based on the information fed into your brain, that’s where knowledge overrides free will, and the right choices are made to receive abundant life,
People Open your eyes its not all about you, you are wrong it’s about you, but it’s ALL about Jesus, and how we are to live! How are we to teach the World as an example if we throw out the truth then we have become evil fornicators against the word of God and accept false hope!! Do not trust in riches. trust in Jesus. Yes he wants you to be wealthy, but not to trust in that wealth for God owns it all we just borrow it this life is just a test. Walk by the Spirit it will open up your eyes!!!
We will fall because we put our trust in man and not God!! Call on Jesus Pray Do you not know the hour you are in? Please pray Jesus will help you to make a change in the World for the better, but only when you know the Truth. So if you read the word of God, The Bible, you will have an abundant life, if not you will choose the curse, of lies of the enemy which is poverty and self destruction self deceiveing do not deceive yourself, and we will live in a World of Choas–
Now we live in calamity and chaos why? because we are consumed with lies from the enemy. Sorry it is all about Love. — A Love so great it defeats death. Wake Up America, you are Loved, do what is right. Receive Jesus Receive Love. How many of you are Happy, most of us don’t want what we have we are consummed with ourselves, with our lusts, with our anger, with our greed with our envy, with money houses, clothes we love our dog and cars more than we love our children, because we are evil and selfish and DENY him. Don’t deny yourself any more. Choose abundant life You want Jesus!
I choose Jesus I choose love!! I choose life. Yes you do have a choice!! We are the created we are not the Creator, even Einstein knew this. Hello we are in trouble choose Jesus he has all the answers it is all about a great love Love and it starts with the person in the Mirror Reflect God, Not Satan. Yes I have freedom of speech, yes there is right and there is wrong– we are the created, not the creator, there will be an accounting one day, we are to spread the Good News - There is hope- his name is Jesus the teachings are in the Bible. I don’t want you to go to hell and yes hell is real, Satan is real I have fought him and won I am a Champion!! Oh Death where is your sting? Bottom line Choose life. WE have free will, that is a fact, there is right path and there is a wrong path it all starts with your head and your head needs to match our heart that’s why God gave it to you if your heart does not feel right don’t do it, the answers are in the Bible so Quit lying to yourself. When you are fed the Word of God you will make the right choices. How can I tell you of Heavenly things when you will not even listen to Earthly things, I am not God, But he lives in me and can live in you too, Wow what a great treasure to know the ruler and creator of the Universe!! Not everyone shares my views, however Not everyone receives their blessing, not everyone will live in eternity, Not everyone will use the treasure inside of them that God gave them. Because someone spoke a curse to them If someone spoke a curse to you, refuse to accept that that is not what God says about you, You were given a special gift, the enemy wants to shut you down he is a liar, don’t listen to man listen to God!!!!!! It’s all aout him! When Jesus comes back I want my heart to resemble his I want to go with Him. Jesus was Gentle, came here by the will of God, Our God is all about Love a great big beautiful God. Sorry Devil you are a Liar, if it is not good it is not God. Don’t choose the lie. There is black and there is white . There is right Morally and there is wrong morally, you have a soul, you have a choice, choose a blessing or a curse yes it is all a test, choose life. Get right its not all about you. So quit lying to yourself, quit being selfish!!!
Choose Life Choose Jesus He is the only answer. In America we think it is all about us yes we are a great nation but we have also fallen into great sin, we are now a laughing stock choose what is right choose Jesus! We need to repent and ask for God to resore us he is listening he will answer, he sees you heart he knows if you are a liar or not, he judges all things to know if they are true or not He is all about LOVE Choose LOVE!! Ask yourself this, If it’s not all about Love then what?? Devil you are a Liar!!! It is about him our Creator we are given a choice choose life or choose death! It’s is all about Love NOT LUST!!!!
Nubian Queen, did you happen to read my post (directly above yours)? If not, too bad because it would have saved you some time in writing yours as it pretty much debunks your arguments. Also, I assume by your name that you are of African descent. So the Dred Scott/dehumanization parallels to abortion should be of particular interest to you.
G unit are you NUTS!!! There are thousands and thousands of kids in foster care that need homes!! 5 and 6 year old children, not fetuses!! Where is your bleeding heart for them? And there would be thousands and thousands more in state’s custody but they can’t find homes for the ones they already have. So they leave abused kids with their horrible parents (a word used loosley here). Stop fighting for the fetuses when there are millions millions of kids across this planet on the verge of dealth and living a horrible existence. Bible thumpers need to get their heads out of the sand and actually look at the world they live in. Stop trying to create more unwanted kids when we aren’t even close to helping all the ones’ already alive and hurting!!
It’s really very, very simple. ANYTHING that Cynthia Davis [R-O'Fallon] supports should be soundly defeated. The woman is bat-sh.. crazy! Still, more to the discussion at hand…
It is hypocritical for the uber-religious arm of the Republic party to stand up and preach that:
Abortion is wrong
While also claiming that:
The death penalty is just
The war in Iraq is just
Free or low-cost contraception is wrong
Social services for children and parents should be cut
Sex education in school is wrong
And that “Abstinence Only” is the only sex education that is needed
- Let’s ask Bristol Palin about that one, shall we?
- “Just Say No” didn’t work in the war on drugs either, did it?
Your religion is not my religion. Your faith is not my faith. Your guilt is not my guilt. Your sins are not my sins. Your way of living is not my way of living. Your God is not my god. Your religious laws are not my religious laws.
America is NOT a Christian nation. America was not formed as a Christian nation. America allows freedom of religion, including freedom FROM religion. That is the part that the fundamentalists forget. I don’t have to submit to your religious views if I don’t want to. You do not have the right to preach at me if I don’t want you to. You do not have the right to force your religion upon me.
You have the right to say that I am wrong, the my beliefs are wrong, that my god is not the “One True God”, that what I do is a sin. You have those rights.
I have the right to say that you are wrong, that your beliefs are wrong, that your God means nothing to me, and that you are deluded. I have that right.
You do not have the right to say that your God says this or that, and that it should be the law of man because your God says so. You need to understand that.
Your religion is your choice and your concern, not mine. Until you try to dictate my way of life based on your beliefs. In that case, you can sit down and shut up. I won’t force my religion on you if you don’t force yours on me.
I also have the right to tell you that your religion has no place in my governance, and the constitution is on my side.
TheModerator, well said. End of discussion.
Especially the part about Cynthia Davis. That girl has the brain power of a squirrel.
“A vote for this bill is a vote for the state to lie to these women in print,” said Bray. “I’m sick of women being treated like they’re so stupid that they can’t be responsible for their own reproductive decisions.”
A big amen to this. I can only hope that Nixon vetoes this bill, and we focus on what is more important to the state right now. I realize that the Republicans can’t tolerate the thought that women can make up our own minds, now, and that Christians can’t tolerate other beliefs…but isn’t it about time that this state moved out of the trailer park?
“BTW, all of you that keep bringing up the “unwanted child” argument need to consider the thousands of childless couples who pray for the chance to adopt.”
I will take strong exception to this statement. Have you ever been to a foster home, full of kids wanting permanent homes? Have you ever been friends with people who have grown up “in the system”?
How many unadopted kids do you think exist just in the US today?
There are approximately 500,000 children in foster care, right now. Most are up for adoption. That’s just in the US.
How dare you come in and imply that every child born in this country, this world, has a loving couple waiting to embrace and care for them? How can you read about the children as sex slaves, those neglected, abused, homeless, without family, and use this to bolster your narrow minded beliefs?
How many children have you adopted? How many are you carrying for in foster care? Forget that, do you even bother donating a few bucks at Christmas time so some kid can get a toy or new shoes?
Others in this comment thread made the most important statements: you don’t care about the kids once they’re born. In fact, I would say you’re more concerned about bolstering your belief systems, then worried about the precious little bundles. Because your belief system doesn’t require a commit from you, any responsibility. You can just vote some incompetent idiot into office, who will waste our time with these stupid bills, when unemployment in this state is heading up to 10%; when who knows how many people are dying because they don’t have health care. You’re certainly not willing to put up when it comes to good schools, or health care for the kids. No that would require money from your own pockets. Horrors.