House passes 8-week abortion ban
5 p.m.
Live playback of Gov. Mike Parson’s end of session press conference is available in the player below.
2:30 p.m.
A Missouri state lawmaker says he misspoke on the House floor when he referred to “consensual rapes” during a highly charged debate on a bill to ban abortions at eight weeks, including in cases of rape and incest.
Republican Rep. Barry Hovis said in the chamber Friday that most of the sexual assaults he handled before retiring from law enforcement weren’t strangers “jumping out of the bushes” but instead “date rapes or consensual rapes.”
Abortion-rights supporters who attended the debate hissed in response.
Hovis, of Missouri’s southeastern Bootheel region, told the Associated Press he had meant to say “date rapes or consensual or rape.” When pressed on whether that made sense in the context of the rest of his sentence, he said he believes there is no such thing as “consensual rape.”
1:20 p.m.
A Missouri state lawmaker was met with hisses when he used the phrase “consensual rape” during a highly charged House debate on a bill that would ban abortions at eight weeks, including in cases of rape and incest.
Republican Rep. Barry Hovis, of Cape Girardeau, said in the chamber Friday that most of the sexual assaults he handled before retiring from law enforcement weren’t strangers “jumping out of the bushes” but instead “date rapes or consensual rapes.”
Abortion-rights supporters who attended the debate hissed in response.
St. Louis-area Democratic Rep. Raychel Proudie later assured the House that “there is no such thing as consensual rape.”
Hovis’ office hasn’t returned a message seeking comment.
Lawmakers passed the bill 110-44.
The comment was reminiscent of former Rep. Todd Akin, who lost the state’s U.S. Senate race in 2012 after saying women’s bodies can prevent pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.”
12:45 p.m.
Protesters against a Missouri bill banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy disrupted debate and marched through the halls of the state Capitol.
Dozens of abortion-rights supporters were told to leave the House visitors’ galleries Friday after interrupting debate with chants of “when you lie, people die” and “women’s rights are human rights.”
They then marched through the halls, stopping to chant outside Gov. Mike Parson’s office before circling around the House chamber.
They chanted “Vote no, now” as the Republican-led House was passing the legislation, then switched to chants of “shame, shame, shame.”
The legislation now goes to Parson, a Republican, who is expected to sign it into law.
UPDATE 12:12 P.M.: An emergency clause attached to the bill passed 109-46. The clause means a provision requiring notification of both parents would take effect immediately when the governor signs the bill.
UPDATE 12:05 P.M.: The Missouri House voted 110-44 to pass HB126, which would ban abortion at 8 weeks of pregnancy.
Lawmakers then began debate on an emergency clause for the bill’s two-parent notification provision.
ORIGINAL: The Missouri House began debating legislation on the last morning of the session Friday that would tighten restrictions on abortion, with some members issuing emotional pleas for or against the bill.
The House took up HB126, which would ban abortion in Missouri at eights weeks of pregnancy, starting at about 10 a.m. House members were continuing to debate the measure at 11:30 a.m.
LINK: Watch the House debate live
The bill was expected to pass the House, which has a Republican supermajority.
Several lawmakers from mid-Missouri took part in the debate, including Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and Rep. Martha Stevens, D-Columbia.
Walsh invoked a famous quote by former President Ronald Reagan, saying all supporters of abortion rights are already alive. All rights extend from the right to life, Walsh said.
“I stand wholeheartedly in support of this bill,” Walsh said.
Stevens said the bill would be detrimental to women’s health. She said supporters were lying when they say the law isn’t meant to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court opinion that legalized abortion.
“That’s what it’s designed to do,” Walsh said.
Debate was briefly halted just before noon as protesters opposed to the law began chanting “when you lie, people die,” and were removed from the House gallery.
The bill had already passed the House but was sent back to the chamber after changes were made this week in the Senate.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
Gov. Mike Parson holds news conference in support of abortion bill, May 15
