JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Some Missouri lawmakers are renewing a call for the state to take an anti-abortion step that goes further than prominent anti-abortion groups want to go and that has so far failed to gain much traction in any state: a law that would allow murder charges against women who have abortions.
Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have introduced bills to be considered in the legislative session beginning next month to apply the murder laws on behalf of a victim who is an “unborn child at any stage of development.”
The bills would provide exceptions if the suspect is a woman who terminates a pregnancy after being coerced or threatened, or if an abortion is performed by a doctor to save the pregnant woman's life.
“To me, it's about protecting a baby's life like we protect anyone else's,” Rep. Bob Titus, a first-term Republican who is sponsoring one of the measures, told The Associated Press. “The persecution is merely a consequence of the taking of an innocent human life.”
Titus said no charges should be filed as long as people comply with the law already on the books, which makes Missouri one of 14 states banning abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.
Titus said he has not discussed his bill with legislative leaders or based it on any model legislation, although it is aligned with a bill from Republican Sen. Mike Moon, who represents the same area of southwestern Missouri.
Two groups are trying to get measures on Missouri's 2024 ballots to legalize abortion in more cases. The government would be prevented from infringing on abortion rights during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. The other, drafted by moderate Republicans, would roll back restrictions to a lesser extent.
Abortion-related measures could come to voters' attention in several states next year. Since last year, voters have sided with abortion rights in all seven states where the questions were on the ballot.
The abortion landscape in the U.S. has been rapidly changing since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and ended a nationwide right to abortion.
Most Republican-controlled states have implemented bans or restrictions, and most Democratic-led states have taken steps to protect access.
Prominent anti-abortion groups have generally opposed measures that would charge women who have abortions.
Yet identical legislation was introduced in Missouri earlier this year, and similar bills were introduced in other states in 2023, including Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina. None were put forward by a legislative committee.
The Kentucky measure died after the Republican attorney general and legislative leaders opposed it. At the time, Republican House Speaker David Osborne said the Republican majority in his chamber had never considered passing an abortion ban without any exceptions.
In South Carolina, more than two dozen Republican lawmakers signed on as sponsors of a bill that would classify abortion as murder. As the bill gained attention, several lawmakers withdrew their support. Lawmakers later passed a ban on abortions when heart activity can be detected, usually around six weeks into pregnancy – and often before women realize they are pregnant.
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Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.