According to a new report from the Washington Post, Missouri GOP lawmakers are seeking to impose a restrictive abortion ban that would create a Texas-style vigilante system allowing “private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident obtain an abortion out of state.”
Missouri currently has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, and if Roe v. Wade was overturned millions of people would lose access to reproductive health care. Already, Missouri GOP U.S. Senate candidates — Eric Schmitt, Eric Greitens, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, and Mark McCloskey — have signaled their support for overturning Roe v. Wade and creating hardline bans to outlaw abortion.
- Eric Schmitt signed Missouri onto a brief supporting Mississippi’s highly-restrictive abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest. And he’s asked the Supreme Court to use Missouri’s abortion restriction as a test case to overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Eric Greitens pushed abortion restrictions as governor and he has said Roe v. Wade should be “sent to the ash heap of history.”
- Vicky Hartzler has said the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade. She recently voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act — a bill to codify abortion rights as constitutionally guaranteed under Roe v. Wade’s near-50-year precedent.
- Billy Long has said it’s time to “abort Roe v. Wade.” Long also voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act.
- Mark McCloskey endorsed a total ban outlawing all abortions, including for teen rape and incest victims.
But now, these candidates must be asked whether they support this new unconstitutional law and intrusive government (as well as private) control over deeply-personal decisions between patients and their doctors.
Here are a few questions primary candidates must answer:
- Do you support a new restrictive abortion ban in Missouri that will create a Texas-style vigilante system of justice that punishes people for seeking abortions out-of-state?
- Do you agree with some of your primary opponents that there should be a complete abortion ban including for victims of rape and incest?
- As a U.S. Senator would you push for copycat legislation at the national level, which creates a highly restrictive abortion ban harming pregnant people and bankrupting women’s health organizations?
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Published: Mar 9, 2022 | Last Modified: Mar 11, 2022