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Press
Release:Statement by Gloria Feldt, PresidentPlanned Parenthood Federation of America September 16, 1999 Washington, DC — In a direct attack on the 1973 Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, the state of Missouri has outlawed virtually all abortion procedures. The Missouri General Assembly voted today to override Governor Carnahan's veto of the so-called "Infant's Protection Act. " Panned Parenthood Federation of America's lawyers, acting on behalf of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, will seek an injunction to stop the ban from going into effect. The action by the Missouri General Assembly is outrageous and blatantly unconstitutional. This law is so broad and so vague it bans virtually all abortion procedures. Unlike similar bans passed by other state legislatures, the Missouri law goes far beyond just banning abortion. For example, this law, criminalizes women who undergo an abortion procedure, carrying a sentence of up to life in prison. The intent of the law is clearly to overturn Roe. The core principle of Roe is that throughout pregnancy, the life and health of the pregnant woman are paramount. The Missouri law does not provide an exception protecting the health of the woman, making her health subservient to the potential life of the fetus. The Missouri law also applies to all stages of pregnancy, violating the principle established in Casey, that a state may not place a "substantial obstacle in the path of a women seeking an abortion of a non-viable fetus. " The legislature rejected attempt after attempt to insert language to abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court. So-called "partial birth" abortion or "partially born" are not medical terms, they are political terms. Twenty courts have blocked or limited the application of similar laws, including 15 courts that have permanently enjoined them as unconstitutional. Courts have consistently found these laws broad and vague, banning access of women to the safest and most common medial procedures for terminating pregnancy. The Missouri state legislature has obviously become spellbound by the hateful, untruthful rhetoric of the anti-choice, anti-family planning movement. Instead of standing up for the women of Missouri, insuring access to constitutionally protected health care procedures, the state has made women and doctors the targets for local attorneys to prosecute. The Missouri legislature's time would be better spent implementing programs that insure the women of Missouri access to contraception and other reproductive health care services, reducing the need for abortion. Planned Parenthood Federation of America will continue to fight for the reproductive freedom for the women of Missouri and the women of this country. Adrienne Verrilli 202-973-6397 Sandra Jordan 202-973-6395 |
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Planned Parenthood Federation of America
to Immediately File Suit