JEFFERSON CITY – As legislators prepare for the start of the 2022 legislative session, state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman is once again leading the charge to protect the lives of the unborn. This week she pre-filed the Empower Women, Promote Life Act (HB 1987) to strengthen the state’s existing pro-life laws so that Missouri has some of the most comprehensive protections in the nation for mothers and their unborn children.
“The Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe V Wade and gives States back their right to protect the unborn. With Pro-life majorities in the Missouri house and Senate in 2022, we must act now to ensure that Missouri is ready to protect women and the unborn,” said Coleman, R-Arnold.
Coleman’s HB 1987 would strengthen Missouri law to ensure state revenues are not utilized to fund abortion providers. The bill also contains language similar to the Texas Heartbeat Act that took effect in Texas in September. Coleman’s bill would prohibit most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. It also would provide private citizens with the ability to bring a civil suit against abortion providers who violate Missouri’s pro-life laws and anyone who aids a women in getting an unlawful abortion procedure. Additionally, the bill includes provisions to prohibit dilation and evacuation, also known as dismemberment abortions, and to protect children who survive a failed abortion attempt.
Coleman said, “We must pass comprehensive pro-life legislation that defunds Planned Parenthood by enacting the Empower Women, Promote Life Act. This important piece of legislation will provide protection to children born in a botched abortion, ban the inhumane practice of dismemberment abortions, and follows Texas’ lead by providing a civil course of action for those who break the law by performing, aiding or abetting unlawful abortions.”
Coleman, who is one of the architects of the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, said she is confident her legislation will receive strong support in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly. The legislature will take up her proposal for consideration when the General Assembly convenes for the 2022 legislative session on January 5.