As a pro-life legislator, I believe that every life is valuable. We have a duty to protect the lives of the unborn and to provide women who find themselves in a desperate situation with the time to consider the impact of their decision. An extended waiting period before an abortion would afford women time to access pregnancy resource centers and consider alternatives to abortion, such as adoption.
One of our greatest successes this session was the passage of House Bill 1307, which extends the time a woman must wait before an abortion can be performed. Under current Missouri law, a woman has to wait 24 hours between her initial appointment and the procedure. This legislation increases that time to 72 hours. With the governor’s signature on this bill, we would be the third state in the nation to extend the waiting period to 72 hours, after Utah and South Dakota.
We owe women who are considering abortion the opportunity to be informed about the procedure and the time to reflect on the consequences of their choice. While some may accuse pro-life legislation of not giving women enough credit to make their own healthcare decisions, this bill in fact does the opposite: it shows that we respect women enough to demand they be informed and be given time to consider this grave choice. A woman who is considering abortion deserves the opportunity to weigh her options in the midst of an incredibly stressful time. A longer waiting period will provide women the chance to make a healthier and better-informed decision, both for themselves and their unborn children.
The Legislature also passed pro-life bills that will help provide for some of Missouri’s most vulnerable children by increasing access to certain healthcare treatments in a number of areas across the state. For example, two of the bills we sent to the governor will fund the “Show-Me Healthy Babies Program.” This program provides health insurance coverage to low-income unborn children though CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). That provision is found in Senate Bill 716 and Senate Bill 754.
Senate Bill 716 and Senate Bill 754 also promote the donation of umbilical cord blood by requiring the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to transport such donated blood samples to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis. Normally cord blood is disposed of after birth, but it can instead be used as a potentially life-saving treatment option for thousands of patients suffering from blood cancers. The use of this ethical stem cell treatment is an excellent alternative to research requiring the destruction of human embryos.
We also passed House Bill 1132, which expands state income tax credits available to those who donate to Missouri’s 18 maternity homes or nearly 60 pregnancy resource centers. These tax incentives will help increase the amount of donations given to pro-life agencies.
In addition, House Bill 2005, an appropriations bill, includes funding for the state’s Alternatives to Abortion Program.
While we have made progress in reducing the number of abortions in Missouri, we still have work to do. The legislation discussed above is a step forward as we seek to protect the lives of the innocent and to provide for women who find themselves in critical and difficult circumstances. These bills have been delivered to the governor. Now we wait to see if he will join us in protecting some of our most vulnerable citizens.
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