Legislature overrides veto on abortion wait time bill

Both chambers of the Missouri legislature voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill that would increase the wait time for a woman seeking an abortion.

House Bill 1307 extends the necessary waiting period for an abortion from 24 hours after a woman’s meeting with a doctor to 72 hours.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Kevin Elmer, R-Nixa, received hours of attention between the House and Senate debates. While the House of Representatives voted on it first, passing it 117-44, the Senate narrowly voted to override the Governor’s veto. The override passed 23-7, the exact amount of “yes” votes necessary.

Senate Democrats began a two-hour filibuster shortly after the House voted to override the veto. Around 11:30 p.m., Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, motioned for previous question, which reverts the discussion back to the underlying motion – in this case, an override vote on HB 1307. Many Republicans voted to end the debate with that, except Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield. He later voted to override the bill.

Opponents of the bill said it would be wrong for the government to step into medical affairs that should be between a person and their physician.

“[Abortion] may not be a choice that you make, or your family member makes, but you don’t have the right to tell someone else what to do in these circumstances,” Rep. Genise Monticello, D-St. Louis, said in opposition of the override. “You might not know what you would do.”

Supporters of the bill, though, said the law gives women more time to think about the decision of getting an abortion.

Speaker of the House Tim Jones, R-Eureka, said the bill comes down to the argument of abortion itself.

“Let’s call this decision what it is,” Jones said on the House floor during its discussion. “Do you believe that that being is a human child inside the womb, or do you think it’s a thing? That is the central question. And if you believe it’s a life, then why doesn’t that life have rights, as well?”

Gov. Nixon vetoed the bill July 2, criticizing it for its lack of a provision related to victims of rape or incest. In the Governor’s veto letter, he said making victims wait 72 hours is “punitive, not contemplative.” Nixon also said in the letter a woman has probably already considered the gravity of an abortion before consulting a doctor.

“Lengthening the mandate to ‘at least’ 72 hours serves no demonstrable purpose other than to create emotional and financial hardships for women who have undoubtedly spent considerable time wrestling with perhaps the most difficult decision they may ever have to make.”

Missouri passed the 24-hour waiting period for an abortion in 2003. South Dakota and Utah also has a 72-hour waiting period after meeting with a doctor, while Utah waives that time for victims of rape and incest.