The Following Statement is from Steve Rupp, MRL President:
In the early morning minutes of June 15th, the Missouri Senate convened to pass a pro-life legislation package that expands some areas of pro-life laws. While the bill does not go as far as the Republican controlled super majority could have taken it, the bill does advance regulation on abortion in multiple statutes as well as protecting our Pregnancy Resource Centers and faith communities in St. Louis and across the State of Missouri from being forced to participate in abortion.
Other areas of major concern to women’s health were discussed but scaled back or not covered in this bill. A few concerns are: being able to match complete tissue samples from abortions to be able to diagnose dangerous medical conditions or to find out if all baby body parts have been removed and accounted for. This language would have ensured that marketing of baby body parts from abortion is not being done in Missouri. Information on this critical issue was brought out in the investigations of Planned Parenthood by the House and Senate Sanctity of Life Committees.
Another area of concern in the Senate bill relates to whistleblower protection. Frequently, employees of abortion facilities and research labs witness unsafe and/or unethical practices. If they choose to report this information to the proper authorities, they must be protected from retribution by the abortionist or facility owner. While the Senate version protects the abortionist performing or inducing the abortion and the research companies, the employees of abortion facilities or research labs are not protected in this bill.
We encourage the Missouri House to be strong in their pro-life convictions as they review Senate Bill 5 and address these and other areas of concern!
Missouri Right to Life is the leading pro-life advocacy organization statewide, representing hundreds of thousands of pro-life Missourians. Solid legislation ensuring the right to life is crucial and we look to the Republican controlled super-majorities in the House and Senate to work to save these little innocent human lives and protect women.