ARNOLD, Mo. (97.1 FM TALK) - A Missouri lawmaker looks to restrict abortions and punish those who perform them.
Abortions would be illegal in Missouri after a fetal heartbeat first becomes detectable, under a bill pre-filed by Republican Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman. It would essentially outlaw abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy – which is significant because many women don't even know they're pregnant until after that point.
Like the abortion law in Texas, which is currently the most restrictive in the country, her bill would allow anyone to file suit against any clinic, doctor or anyone else who provides abortions that violate the law.
"The people who say this is really awful to have civil enforcement are not really looking at the reality of that they're are only two ways that you can get people to follow the law and those people don't support criminal penalties either," Elizabeth Coleman says. You can hear the full interview with her at the top of this page.
She says her bill would also defund Planned Parenthood, making them no longer a Medicaid provider in Missouri. Coleman will formally introduce the bill in January.
Missouri already has some of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the nation, but Elizabeth Coleman says some of those laws are currently paused, pending a federal appeals court ruling. The law bans abortions at eight weeks and prohibits the procedure based on a Down syndrome diagnosis.
Currently, there's only one place in the state to get an abortion, a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis – which reported only performing a few dozen procedures in 2020. Elizabeth Coleman's bill would also limit funding to Planned Parenthood.
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