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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2019

CONTACT: Mallory Quigley [email protected], 202-223-8073

Washington, D.C. –  Today the Missouri House voted 110-44 to send the governor the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act after it passed the Senate yesterday. The bill contains some of the nation’s strongest protections for unborn children and their mothers, including provisions protecting unborn children from abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy and later; limiting late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy, when science shows unborn children can feel pain; declaring the state of Missouri and all its political subdivisions a “sanctuary of life”; banning discriminatory abortions for reasons of sex, race, or Down syndrome; requiring abortionists to have adequate malpractice insurance; and more. Governor Mike Parson has pledged to sign it into law.

The bill’s passage comes as the Alabama legislature passed a landmark pro-life bill protecting babies throughout pregnancy, and a bipartisan majority of the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee rejected a New York-style bill to expand abortion on demand through birth.

The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) praised Missouri lawmakers in a statement:

“We congratulate the people of Missouri on this historic victory in the fight to protect unborn children and their mothers,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Spurred on by the extremism on display in states like New York and Virginia, the American people are making their voices heard. An overwhelming majority of Missourians – Democrats, Independents, self-described pro-choice voters, women in greater numbers than men – agree that abortion on demand through birth, even when science informs us unborn children can feel excruciating pain, is extreme. In Missouri and nationwide, momentum is clearly on the side of life.

“We are grateful to House Speaker Elijah Haahr, Reps. Kathy Swan, Nick Schroer and Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Sens. Andrew Koenig and Bob Onder, and all their pro-life colleagues for their tireless work to pass this bill and thank Governor Parson for his commitment to signing some of the nation’s strongest pro-life protections into law.”

“Missouri respects and loves life, and one reason I serve is to protect it. We will no longer tolerate abortion, especially when we know that the baby feels the pain of it. It was my privilege to author the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to stop late-term abortions in Missouri,” said Representative Kathy Swan (R-Cape Girardeau), a member of SBA List’s National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus.

“Since Roe v. Wade in 1973 we have passed incremental bills. Bit by bit, we’ve protected the health and safety of Missouri women and encouraged them to choose life for their unborn children, and we have made an impact,” said Senator Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis). “Passing the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act is an important, historic step for Missouri to protect the weakest among us.”

Prior to the vote, Governor Mike Parson said in a statement, “As other states like New York and Virginia venture further away from the American ideal to protect and uphold the right to life, I’m honored to lead a state with so many people who are committed to standing up for those without a voice.”

Polling released earlier this year by SBA List found that 82 percent of Missouri voters – including 66 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Independents, 83 percent of women, and 61 percent of self-described pro-choice voters – support a law prohibiting late-term abortions (only 18 percent support allowing late-term abortions).

SBA List is a network of more than 700,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.

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