Missouri Is First State To Ban Abortion; 7 Others Quickly Follow

MISSOURI — Missouri on Friday became the first state in the U.S. to ban abortion, its governor said.

Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation activating the state’s Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act and ending elective abortions in Missouri, he said in a tweet about 10:17 a.m., roughly an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 vote to overturn Roe v. Wade was made public.

“We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions," Parson said in a news release. “Thanks to decades of conservative leaders, Missouri has become one of the most pro-life states in the nation, and our Administration has always fought for the life of every unborn child.”

As of Friday afternoon, abortion bans had also taken effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to the New York Times. Trigger laws were set to go into effect in the coming days and weeks in Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, the Times reported. A voter-approved amendment to West Virginia’s Constitution denying the right to abortion could also result in a full ban, according to the Times.

Under Missouri’s anti-abortion act, performing the procedure is a Class B felony, with the exception of medical emergencies but not rape or incest. Any doctor who provides an abortion risks having their license suspended or revoked. The act was signed by Parson in 2019 as part of House Bill 126.

“With Roe overturned, Missouri now requires people to remain pregnant against their will, treating them as little more than fetal incubators with no rights or role in the decision, even in cases of rape and incest,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said in a prepared statement.

“Just this past session, Missouri Republicans proposed bills criminalizing the treatment of ectopic pregnancies and crossing state lines to have an abortion in a state where the right to privacy and bodily autonomy is respected. With the federal courts no longer protecting basic rights, Missourians must elect more lawmakers who are willing to do so or we will quickly become a state where government oppression replaces personal freedom.”