ST. LOUIS 鈥 Attorneys for the state of Missouri argued Thursday that abortion bans aren鈥檛 inherently religious, even if lawmakers pass them because of their faith.
Lawyers for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey鈥檚 Office asked a St. 亚洲无码 circuit judge to make a ruling on his own, before a trial, against 13 religious leaders who sued earlier this year to block the state鈥檚 abortion ban.
The suit argued lawmakers imposed their religious beliefs on others in violation of the Missouri constitution. But Maria Lanahan, with the Missouri Attorney General鈥檚 Office, said on Thursday there are several reasons why someone may vote to ban abortion that have nothing to do with religion.
鈥淓veryone has different reasons for passing a bill,鈥 she said.
In their lawsuit, filed in January, Missouri Christian, Jewish and Unitarian Universalist leaders sought to block the abortion ban and stop local prosecutors from enforcing it.
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It was one of dozens of similar challenges filed across the country after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and gave states the power to restrict and outlaw abortion. Missouri鈥檚 ban, which excludes medical emergencies, went into effect last year.
Some of the lawsuit鈥檚 claims, including one seeking to stop local prosecutors from enforcing the ban, were dismissed earlier this year. But many still stand, and the attorney general鈥檚 office is urging Judge Jason Sengheiser to drop them, too.
Lawyers with the National Women鈥檚 Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who represented the faith leaders, said the law鈥檚 purpose is expressly religious, in part because it was condoned by a religious anti-abortion caucus.
The ban also references the concept of 鈥渃onception,鈥 which was typically associated with religious texts, and contains the language, 鈥淚n recognition that Almighty God is the author of life ... it is the intention of the General Assembly to defend the right to life of all humans, born and unborn.鈥
鈥淭his was clearly the intent and purpose of the legislature to impose their religious beliefs on everyone in Missouri by passing this abortion ban,鈥 said attorney K.M. Bell.
Lanahan, the lawyer for Missouri鈥檚 Attorney General鈥檚 Office, noted that the Missouri Constitution鈥檚 preamble also makes a reference to God, 鈥渢he Supreme Ruler of the Universe.鈥
Current laws in Missouri and elsewhere also have religious parallels, including those banning murder, theft or bigamy, she said, and lawmakers have invoked their religion when making legislative decisions throughout history, including when they passed the federal Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion and sex.
But Lanahan was cut off by Sengheiser when she took the comparison one step further and said if the faith leaders鈥 argument is accepted, laws against murder could be overturned because religious radicals condone killing in the name of their faith.
鈥淪ome people believe terrorism is part of their religion,鈥 she said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to go down that road,鈥 Sengheiser said.
Sengheiser said he will likely make a ruling on whether the case should proceed to trial sometime after Jan. 1.