MEMORANDUM 

TO:                 Governor Matt Blunt
                        Senator Michael Gibbons, President Pro-Tem
                        Representative Rod Jetton, Speaker of the House
                        Honorable Members of the Missouri State Senate
                        Honorable Members of the Missouri House of Representatives

FROM:           Pam Fichter, President
                        Jim Cole, General Counsel

DATE:           August 8, 2008

RE:                 Special Session on HB 1831 (2008) and HB 818 (2007)

We write to you today to express the desire of the pro-life community for the Missouri legislature to take up and pass HB 1831, which failed to pass during the regular session of the 2008 Missouri General Assembly.  Pro-life Missourians are very disappointed in this missed opportunity to save babies and protect women by requiring that they be offered ultrasounds, information on their child's development, and protection from many forms of coercion.

In addition to this, the recent decision by the Missouri Supreme Court brought back the pro-life concerns of HB 818 from 2007, which allows midwives to perform abortions.   MRL has no position on whether, in general, expanding midwives' role in pregnancy and childbirth is appropriate.  Unfortunately, because of the drafter's choice of language in the amendment, particularly in the use of the term "tocological," the new provision can be exploited to allow abortions to be performed by non-physicians.

Missouri Right to Life urges you to stand with the pro-life community in calling for a special session in September 2008 to address the pro-life concerns of HB 818 and to pass HB 1831.  This would be an important reminder to the voters of Missouri that life issues are of paramount concern to the Missouri legislature.