Missouri Attorney General Affirms New Abortion Amendment Still Provides Protection for Babies at Fetal Viability
The attorney general stated that the state has the authority to enforce abortion regulations when parental consent is not given for a minor to undergo the procedure.
After Missouri residents voted to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban and enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, Attorney General Andrew Bailey affirmed that certain abortion laws can still be enforced.
Bailey mentioned that the state can implement an abortion ban post-fetal viability, given the amendment’s provision allowing regulation of abortion beyond viability, except in situations where the mother’s life or health is at risk.
“First, under the express terms of the amendment, the government may still protect innocent life after viability. The statutes thus remain generally enforceable after viability,” he stated in a three-page order.
The attorney general also emphasized that the state can uphold abortion regulations in cases where parental consent is lacking for a minor’s abortion and when a woman or minor faces unlawful pressure to undergo the procedure.
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“Parents’ fundamental rights include the ‘right to refuse’ a procedure, but courts have never ‘transmuted’ this right to refuse into a right to obtain a procedure. … Nothing in Amendment 3 does either,” he stated.
The order also mentioned that “should Amendment 3 be construed more narrowly by courts or be amended or repealed in the future to permit greater protection of unborn life, that will automatically restore authority to the Attorney General and other officials to resume broader enforcement.”
Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
