Abortion waiting period sought in state

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers looking to limit abortions plan to push legislation requiring a one-day wait between a doctor's visit and an abortion.

House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, who sponsored a similar proposal last year, pledged that this year's version will be debated by the House.

Last year, when Hanaway was still in the minority, Democratic House Speaker Jim Kreider refused to refer the abortion bill to a committee until the last day of the session -- effectively killing it.

This year, "it's going to be a priority to the extent that it's going to get floor time and we're going to work on it," Hanaway said Thursday.

Hanaway received cheers from House members Wednesday when she proclaimed in her opening day speech that they would work to "protect those children who would be killed even before they are born."

"I would imagine, based on the response it got, we would pass something this year," Hanaway said.

Missouri has long had an anti-abortion majority in the Legislature -- even when Democrats controlled both chambers.

The one-day consent legislation is a priority for the state's largest anti-abortion group, Missouri Right to Life.

State law currently requires physicians to certify in writing that a woman has given her informed consent before undergoing an abortion. The law requires doctors to tell women of the risks associated with the particular abortion procedure and of alternatives to abortion.

Similar House and Senate bills would require a physician to wait at least 24 hours between conferring with a patient and providing an abortion, unless there is a medical emergency.

"It's really the best way to have informed consent," Hanaway said. "If you don't give women an opportunity to process the information that's been given to them, they're not going to be able to make as good choices."

The legislation also would require abortion providers to carry at least $1 million of medical malpractice insurance. Missouri has abortion clinics in Columbia, St. Louis and Springfield. There also is an abortion provider just across the state line from Kansas City.

The House bill filed Thursday is sponsored by Rep. Susan Phillips, R-Kansas City, and 21 other lawmakers, including a few Democrats. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. John Cauthorn, R-Mexico, and three others.

Cauthorn said when he was treated for prostate cancer that he wanted his doctor to tell him everything he knew. People receiving an abortion should know the details and potential complications as well, he said.

Carolyn Sullivan, executive director of the state chapter of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said the legislation is "insulting to women" and implies they don't take abortion decisions seriously.

Making a woman wait 24 hours for an abortion could place an unnecessary burden on people without transportation, she said.