NO WINS, NO ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS, AND NO INCREASE IN VITAL PREVENTION SERVICES DURING THE 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CONTACT: Carolyn Sullivan, Executive Director, 314.603.8809
NO WINS, NO ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS, AND NO INCREASE IN VITAL PREVENTION SERVICES DURING THE 94th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 13, 2005
Jefferson City—The 94th Missouri General Assembly came to an end today without the passage of additional restrictions on a woman’s right to choose. Though no anti-choice legislation was passed, “Freedom of choice in Missouri literally hung in the balance during the last days of the session. Though there is no reason to celebrate our 48th ranking on choice, we are breathing a huge sigh of relief that the session is over without the passage of a single additional restriction” said Carolyn Sullivan, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri.
Despite rhetoric about stopping abortions in Missouri, the anti-choice controlled House and Senate failed to grant a hearing or failed to vote on every piece of pro-choice, proactive legislation filed this session. These bills held the potential to prevent unintended pregnancies and abortions through increasing access to contraceptives and reproductive health information. They include:
HB 871: Woman’s Right to Know Bill (no hearing)
SB 458: The Patient Protection Act (hearing in Senate, but no vote after the hearing)
SB 379: The Compassionate Assistance in Rape Emergencies (C.A.R.E.) Act (no hearing)
HB 621 and SB 40: The Birth Control Protection Act (neither bill received a hearing)
“This session, pro-choice legislators introduced pro-active bills in the House and Senate designed to increase public and provider awareness about FDA approved birth control and to provide sexual assault victims with medically and factually accurate information about EC; these bills went no where as a result of the leadership in both houses. The women in this state are entitled to answers about why bills designed to provide them with public health information were not taken more seriously by the leadership in the General Assembly.”
“Rather than trying to pass legislation engineered to make abortion more difficult and dangerous for women in Missouri, anti-choice members of the legislature should have done something—anything—to create the conditions that enable women to make true reproductive choices, such as providing comprehensive sex education and ensuring that women have access to a range of effective contraceptives,” said Sullivan. She went on to add that, “If the Missouri Legislature truly wants to reduce the number of abortions in Missouri, surely focusing efforts on preventing unintended pregnancies through education is the place to begin.”
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