Bill would make abortion a felony
Published March 20, 2007
Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O'Fallon, said in 50 years, people might see abortion as a terrible institution and a thing of the past — much like the issue of slavery is today.
"There were people in Nazi Germany that thought killing Jews was all right," she said. "Then one day they stopped and said, 'No, we aren't going to do this anymore.'"
Davis, who said abortion is an act of violence on both the baby and the mother, has sponsored a new anti-abortion bill to make abortion a class B felony. The proposed bill reads, "Any person who performs or induces, or attempts to perform or induce, an abortion on another, other than to save the life of the mother, is guilty of a class B felony."
Davis said advances in science helped to prompt the bill.
"The marvels of modern medicine have allowed us to see what we're destroying," Davis said. "We're trying to be reasonable. We're trying to promote life."
Although the bill does not have enough support in the House to pass, Davis said she hopes its introduction will reinvigorate public debate about abortion while demonstrating state autonomy and authority on the issue.
Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said he is not worried about the bill passing in the General Assembly but has still alerted the organization's supporters and lobbyists.
"I hope the majority of legislators recognize from what happened in South Dakota that this type of bill is wildly out of touch with the voters and see fit not to act on it," he said.
In 2006, South Dakota voters voted against a measure to criminalize abortion, which was similar to the Davis' bill, after the legislature passed the law the previous winter.
Instead of filing a lawsuit, which could have resulted in the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court, opponents of the law gathered signatures to place the measure on a the state ballot in the 2006 election. The measure was rejected by 56 percent of South Dakota voters.
Brownlie said the type of bill proposed in the Missouri House does nothing to prevent abortion and is politically motivated. He said if it did pass, it would likely backfire.
"The majority of Missouri citizens, like the majority of U.S. citizens, believe this decision belongs in the hands of individuals, not the hands of legislators," Brownlie said.
Despite the low chance of passage and voter acceptance of her bill, Davis said she will remain committed to preserving life. She said with all the programs in place, such as pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes, pregnant women have many options other than abortion.
"There are many more choices than to destroy your own child," Davis said. "Our goal is to help people no matter the circumstance. There's always an answer."