MISSOURI, USA — Missouri legislators who oppose legal abortion are preparing an aggressive list of bills for the 2022 General Assembly that convenes in January.
Proposals include requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before an abortion and raising criminal penalties for illegal abortions, The Kansas City Star reports.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday signaled they would allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn the nationwide right that has existed for nearly 50 years.
Missouri already has a law on the books banning abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy, but it is on hold pending a federal appeals court ruling. The law includes a provision stating that if the eight-week ban is struck down, a series of limits would kick in at 14, 18 or 20 weeks.
The Supreme Court’s anticipated ruling on a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, expected in June, has raised hopes among Missouri abortion rights opponents.
Abortion is available at just one location in Missouri, a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, and only a few dozen were reported in 2020. Patients often travel to Kansas or Illinois instead.
At least 10 abortion-related measures had already been filed as of Thursday afternoon.
