On Tuesday, the second special session came to an end when the Senate passed Senate Bill 5 with a vote of 22-9. More than a month ago the governor called a special session, with the focus being several abortion provisions in our state. Senators returned to Jefferson City Monday to take up the matter and after some passionate debate it was decided to leave all of the House provisions in Senate Bill 5. Less than 24 hours after it was passed by the Senate the governor had already signed the bill.
During the 2017 regular session I sponsored Senate Bill 41, which was about protecting the rights of the alternative to abortion clinics. This language, which ultimately is in Senate Bill 5, is all about protecting the first amendment rights of everyone – including those at the clinics. That language states these agencies can “operate freely and engage in speech without government interference, as well as the right of a person not to be compelled by the government to participate in abortion.”
I also worked closely with other lawmakers to make sure language that guaranteed these clinics were providing safe medical care was included in legislation. Part of Roe v. Wade was to ensure women had a right to a safe abortion. A provision in Senate Bill 5 requires these clinics to have an annual, unscheduled inspection ensuring that women who chose to seek the services of the clinic do have access to safe medical care.
Senate Bill 5 does the following:
- Overturns the St. Louis “abortion sanctuary” ordinance and prohibits other municipalities from passing similar ordinances; prohibits forcing religious schools to hire abortion advocates as teachers and landlords from renting to abortion clinics; prohibits harassment of pregnancy resource centers;
- Requires Missouri Department of Health to make annual, on-site and unannounced inspections of abortion facilities;
- Requires that only physicians who are licensed to practice in the state of Missouri may perform or induce abortions in an abortion facility located in Missouri;
- Requires a doctor to provide medical information to a woman prior to an abortion decision;
- Requires an abortion doctor to obtain approval of a “complication plan” from the Missouri Department of Health for steps that will be taken when problems arise from administering a medication abortion;
- Requires abortion facilities to have written policies for managing an emergency and transferring patients to a hospital;
- Creates a Class A misdemeanor for abortion staff who knowingly order or request medical first responders to deviate from standard protocols of emergency care;
- Requires all fetal tissue from abortion to be submitted to a board eligible pathologist for examination; pathologist must report to the Missouri Department of Health;
- Includes “whistleblower” protections for employees of an abortion facility who disclose information about possible health and safety violations of abortion law; and
- Grants the Missouri attorney general equal authority, along with prosecutors, to enforce Missouri abortion laws.
There was a real urgency to pass Senate Bill 5. This is because of U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs’s May 2 decision, which overturned Texas’ abortion clinic laws, meaning Missouri’s were no longer enforceable. Soon after the May 2 decision, Planned Parenthood announced it was planning to open clinics in Springfield, Kansas City and Joplin. I, like many others, am glad to have passed Senate Bill 5.
I urge you to contact me with any questions or concerns you have about state government so that I can better represent you during the upcoming legislative session.
Contact Me
I always appreciate hearing your comments, opinions, and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-2459. You may write me at Wayne Wallingford, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or email at wayne.wallingford@senate.mo.gov or www.senate.mo.gov/wallingford.
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