The Missouri House is expected to vote Tuesday in Jefferson City on abortion-related legislation supported by Governor Eric Greitens (R).
State Rep. Curtis Trent (R-Springfield) speaks on the Missouri House floor in March 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at Missouri House Communications}
State Rep. Curtis Trent (R-Springfield) says that is “good state policy.”
“You can get unsafe situations in terms of infections and lack of medical access and you can have women getting really bad situations if you don’t have those protections in place,” Trent says.
The Missouri Senate voted 20-8 early Thursday morning to approve a bill that overturns a St. Louis City ordinance that bars discrimination based on pregnancy decisions. The bill would also require annual safety inspections for abortion clinics.
Representative Trent, whose district includes Springfield and Greene County, tells Missourinet he supports Greitens’ special session call.
“And I’m very supportive of the pro-life movement in general, and I’m very hopeful that we can get some good legislation passed that will help protect women and unborn babies here in Missouri,” says Trent.
Greitens has also urged lawmakers to pass legislation to protect pregnancy resource centers.
Critics, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, want legislators to focus instead on Medicaid expansion and providing access to quality health care.
About 200 abortion rights supporters rallied at the Statehouse in Jefferson City on Wednesday, for what they described as “the People’s Special Session.”
During the event, organizer Evonnia Woods called on Greitens to push for measures to improve Missouri’s maternal and infant mortality rates.
“Black women in Missouri are four times more likely to experience pregnancy-related complications regardless of wealth and education,” Woods says.
The ACLU of Missouri’s Jeffrey Mittman says his organization is ready to challenge any legislation they view as unconstitutional.
Mittman spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday at the Statehouse testifying in committee hearings.
Trent says he’s confident the Missouri House will pass the legislation that Greitens has called for.
The House convenes Tuesday morning at 10.
