Missouri was one of the first states to ban abortion last summer after the overturn of Roe v Wade. Now, some Democratic state legislators want to make sure that birth control in Missouri doesn’t bear the same fate as abortion.
State Senator Greg Razer, a Democrat from Jackson County, told KMOX’s “The Show” that the bill is written to ensure that the abortion ban isn’t interpreted to also be a ban on birth control. The law defines abortion as “using or prescribing any instrument, device, medicine or drug with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth.”
“But the definition of pregnancy in this particular part of the law doesn't measure pregnancy at the time of fertilization of an egg, but rather by the woman's gestational age,” Razer explained. “So the definition of a pregnancy is measured from the first day of a woman's last menstrual cycle. Which to me sounds like, under Missouri law, a woman is always pregnant. And if you can't use a drug, medicine or device, then that seems to outlaw contraception.”
And if that’s not the intention of the law, Razer said, it’s important to clarify that.
“In my district, we had a hospital system — when Roe was overturned, and this part of the law came into effect — they announced that they would not be providing Plan B to rape survivors, because they read this law and deemed it illegal,” Razer said. That decision was later reversed, but caused panic among many doctors and patients.
Hear more from State Senator Greg Razer on KMOX’s “The Show” where he discusses his reasons for making sure birth control is still accessible:
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