Language has been placed in a large anti-crime bill that would conform Missouri’s ban on partial-birth abortion to the law upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
The wording of the amendment is taken from the Nebraska case in which the US Supreme Court upheld a partial-birth abortion ban. The Missouri legislature passed a ban in 1999 over the veto of Governor Mel Carnahan. The Supreme Court has asked the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals to review that law in light of its ruling.
Rep. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis) says there’s no evidence the procedure is used in Missouri. Onder has succeeded in keeping the practice a Class A felony, which is harsher than the Class C felony that is federal law. Onder says he doesn’t believe the constitutionality of the bill rests on the penalty.
The anti-crime bill, HCS SS SCS SB 429 , now goes to the Senate with time running out on the session.
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