JEFFERSON CITY, May 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-lifers in Missouri are awaiting a final decision by Democrat Gov. Jay Nixon after the state legislature approved a bill restricting the legal parameters for aborting children late in pregnancy.
The Missouri legislature gave final approval Thursday to a new measure that would allow abortions after 20 weeks gestation only if the woman’s physical well-being is threatened, replacing a more general health exception, the Kansas City Star reported. The bill’s backers shot down attempts to include a mental health exception.
The bill also requires abortionists to determine the unborn child’s gestational age and whether he or she is viable. Violation of the new parameters would be a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison or up to a $5,000 fine.
The bill passed the House by a 121-33 vote, according to STLtoday.com.
House Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones, a Republican, called the bill “common sense,” saying, “If you support life in all its forms, you should support this bill.”
“The question is whether you support the barbaric practice of ripping a child from the mother’s womb in the late term and slaughtering it,” he added.
Although his party largely opposes the abortion restrictions, Gov. Nixon has not stated whether he would veto the bill; even if he does decide to veto, the bill is protected by veto-proof votes in both chambers. Last year, the governor allowed a bill with more far-reaching abortion restrictions to pass into law without his signature.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, while claiming that neither affiliate performs post-viability abortions, nonetheless slammed the bill as embodying “ambiguous and vague standards that undermine the physician’s judgment.”