While abortion legislation up for debate in the Senate might not have an immediate, direct effect on Mid-Missourians, the protections it would provide should be of interest in Mid-Missouri and across the state, area legislators say.
The Senate will pick up Senate Bill 5 again next week after the bill gained House approval with amendments.
Legislators are nearing the end of the second week of the second special legislative session - focused on abortion-related legislation - called by Gov. Eric Greitens this year. The first focused on legislation authorizing discounted electricity rates to attract a metal manufacturer to Missouri.
SB 5, sponsored by state Rep. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, would modify provisions of state law regulating abortion clinics, as well as the definitions of ambulatory surgical centers and facilities that provide abortion services.
When the House debated the bill Tuesday, state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, reminded the General Assembly the bill has two parts - placing requirements on abortion centers and addressing pregnancy resource centers.
In St. Louis, 424 abortions are conducted a month, Barnes said, and there is evidence some have known complications, like hemorrhages, that result in hospitalization. A facility providing abortions should have a plan in place to get a patient in danger to a hospital within a reasonable distance and for dealing with complications, he said.
The proposed legislation also addresses a St. Louis ordinance that, some say, would control hiring practices in some agencies and threaten non-abortion pregnancy centers' right to screen potential hires for people who share anti-abortion values.
"We don't have that problem in Jefferson City, but the city of St. Louis passed an ordinance that requires pregnancy resource centers to, basically, abandon their beliefs in some circumstances; and this legislation says that no local government can do that," Barnes told the News Tribune. "This legislation just makes sure no local government can enact an ordinance that infringes upon the First Amendment rights of pregnancy resource centers now or in the future."
Leslie Kerns, executive director at Pregnancy Help Center in Jefferson City, said she is excited to see the pro-life legislation move forward.
"We have been successful in helping women throughout our community, so we are in favor of this legislation," Kerns said. "Issues surrounding protecting women's health and requiring annual inspections are very important to us."
A lack of protections, she said, could limit the center's ability to serve clients in the best way by being able to make certain choices about who to employ.
The House approved SB 5 this week after adding two amendments, which sent the bill back to the Senate.
The original bill required tissue samples from every abortion clinic to be sent to a pathologist, who then would report findings to the clinic within 72 hours. A House amendment added language prohibiting the tissue report from containing any personal patient information prohibited by state or federal law, and it noted no complication plan is required where the patient is administered the drug in a medical emergency at hospital and is treated inpatient under medical monitoring until after the abortion is completed.
The second House amendment deletes a section that would have required the state health department to consider a noncompliance and issue an unscheduled inspection of the facility.
SB 5 also would require the state to submit annual reports to the General Assembly about the types of procedures used, whether the state department received the tissue report for that case, and if any inconsistencies exist between the physician's report to the state and the one the pathologist submitted.
During House debate on SB 5, Barnes said the legislation requires the provider to have a plan for complications and to obtain consent from patients ensuring they are informed about risks associated with abortions, as well as protect First Amendment rights for alternative pregnancy resource centers.
"The second half of this is about the ability of organizations who encourage women to choose life in very difficult circumstances," Barnes said. "I believe these are issues every Missourian should support."
State Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, told the News Tribune SB 5 is the best piece of pro-life legislation he has seen in his seven-year tenure with the Legislature.
"This bill doesn't void women's decision for an abortion, but it ensures safety and protection for providers in the pro-life community," Kehoe said. "With these protections in place, pregnancy help centers and religious centers won't feel they are required to provide abortions even though it is against their core values."
Advocates for abortion rights say the bill is an intrusion on a woman's right to choose, suggesting the legislation discourages women from having abortions.
When discussing the risks associated with medical abortions, state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, said it should be left to medical professionals to decide what information is appropriate to give to patients, without regulating it further at the state level.
"I have a problem with the other side of the aisle supporting the ordinance in St. Louis that shuts down and stifles the free speech of pro-life advocates," Barnes said. "Making abortion a choice that fewer women choose - because we have these pregnancy resource centers in the state encouraging life - is a good thing.
"It is a thing that is worthy of an extraordinary session," he said.