Missouri Gov. signs bill limiting abortion
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed legislation Thursday authorizing lawsuits against anyone who helps teenagers get abortions in violation of Missouri’s parental consent law. The law is aimed at preventing teens from getting abortions in neighboring Illinois, which does not have a parental consent law. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri has already filed a lawsuit challenging the new restrictions, saying the new law violates the First Amendment and people’s rights to information and is bad public policy. Governor Blunt has called the legislation “a good pro-life piece of legislation that will reduce the number of abortions in our state” and said the state will be “cultivating a culture that values human life and the rights of the unborn.” Also Thursday, the Center for Reproductive Rights, filed suit on behalf of an abortion clinic, arguing that the clinic will be forced to closed because it will not be authorized to perform abortions under the new law. AP has more. The St. Louis Post Dispatch has local coverage.
