Jason Smith lauds Roe rejection; Andy Leighton decries it

Jason Smith, Southeast Missouri's GOP congressman since 2013, issued the following statement Friday afternoon after U.S. Supreme Court action in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, effectively rejecting the high court's own 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.

"Today marks an historic moment in the decades-long fight to protect the unborn," Smith said in an email provided to the Southeast Missourian. "The Court's decision makes clear that the Constitution gives state legislatures — not unelected judges — the freedom to answer the question of when life begins."

Andy Leighton

Andy Leighton, a candidate for District 147 in the state House, is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the seat left vacant by Republican Wayne Wallingford, when the latter became state director of revenue in December.

In November, it is expected Leighton will face one of three Republicans vying in the August primary: Nate Thomas, Elaine Edgar and John Voss.

"My prospective opponents ... want to gut regulations that protect human life, including life in the womb," Leighton said in an email.

A Missouri ban on elective abortions was implemented Friday morning following action of the nation's highest court. Missouri is one of 13 states with so-called "trigger bans" in the event Roe was reversed. Among the baker's dozen of "trigger" states are four neighboring Missouri: Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Travel expenses

Some companies, according to a report in USA Today, have announced they will cover travel expenses up to a capped dollar amount for employees desiring abortion services if they don't have access to such services in their home states.

At presstime, the list included Amazon, Bumble, Citigroup, Salesforce, Tesla, Lyft, Yelp, JPMorgan, Match Inc., Alaska Airlines/Horixon Air, Conde Nast, Dick's Sporting Goods, Goldman Sachs, Kroger, Meta, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, TikTok, Walt Disney, United Airlines and Zillow.

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