Politics Watch — March 23, 2009
Luetkemeyer makes appearances next week
Next week, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer will make several appearances throughout the Ninth District to hold the first round of Constituent Service Days, in which residents will be able to address any concerns with the freshman Congressman.
Here is a schedule of Luetkemeyer's appearances, which cover almost every corner of the Ninth District.
Luetkemeyer's closest appearances to Columbia will be held on Wednesday, April 1 in Fulton and in Huntsville on Thursday, April 2.
Dems filibuster abortion bill in Missouri Senate
For the last few hours, Democrats in the Missouri Senate have been filibustering a bill that would make it illegal to coerce a woman to have an abortion.
I've been following the debate from the live debate audio provided on the Senate Web site. Capitol reporters Tony Messenger and Chad Livengood have covered some it with their Twitter accounts.
The bill in question, which was proposed by Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, would create the crime of knowingly coercing a pregnant woman to have an abortion, and would also require a doctor preforming an abortion present a pregnant woman with written materials that detail the risk of having an abortion, and would be given the opportunity to view the unborn child before it is aborted.
The Democrats have been working in pairs to maintain the filibuster. Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, proposed an amendment to the bill that would have enacted the Preventions First Act, a bill she has proposed to expand sexual education in public schools that has still not had a hearing. Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, discussed sexual education with Bray before the amendment was struck down.
Later, Sens. Rita Heard Days, D-St. Louis, and Robin Wright-Jones, D-St. Louis, also talked sex ed after asking each other how their breaks went. Then, Senate Minority Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence, who opposes abortion, criticized the entire abortion debate as a waste of the legislators' time.
The Democrats' main argument throughout the debate has been that, in light of joblessness and economic troubles in the state, that there are other measures to consider.