Missouri lawmakers could consider copying Texas abortion law

By SUMMER BALLENTINE and JIM SALTER
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri lawmakers could soon be considering legislation similar to a new Texas law that bans most abortions. Abortion-rights advocates protested that possibility Thursday in St. Louis. Republican Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman says she’ll file a bill next session to allow citizens to sue abortion clinics, as in Texas’ law. The Texas law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity. Courts have blocked similar restrictions elsewhere. But Texas’ law leaves enforcement up to private citizens through civil lawsuits, which could help it survive legal challenges. A 2019 Missouri law banning abortions as early as eight weeks of pregnancy is tangled up in court.