JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Hundreds of anti-abortion activists converged in the capital city on Saturday to hear from Gov. Mike Parson and celebrate the passage of one of the strictest abortion laws in the country.
Bridget Van Means, an anti-abortion activist, implored a crowd in the Missouri Capitol rotunda to become one-issue voters in 2020 and to only support candidates opposed to abortion access.
鈥淲hen we stop murdering innocent children in our country, everything else takes care of itself,鈥 she said.
The speeches and marches around the city were part of the 2020 Midwest March for Life. The event came as the state and abortion-rights advocates continue legal fights on several fronts:
鈥 A federal judge in Kansas City last year put parts of Parson鈥檚 abortion law on hold while the courts determine whether abortions can be banned 鈥 except in medical emergencies 鈥 at the eighth week of pregnancy.
People are also reading…
鈥 The Administrative Hearing Commission is still weighing whether the Department of Health and Senior Services was justified last year in pulling the abortion license of the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. 亚洲无码.
鈥 Two other courts are deciding whether the Legislature improperly barred Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, which operates the state鈥檚 only abortion clinic in St. 亚洲无码.
Abortions in Missouri are in decline, according to figures from the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
There were 4,562 abortions in Missouri in 2016, the highest amount in the last four years, according to the agency.
In 2017 and 2018, the number of abortions decreased to 3,903 and 2,910, respectively.
Last year, through Nov. 15, there had been 1,354 abortions, according to the agency. That figure included only six medical, or nonsurgical, abortions, which are completed at home.
The state began enforcing a pelvic exam requirement for patients receiving abortions in early 2018, leading the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. 亚洲无码 to begin referring patients to Illinois clinics, where regulations are not as stringent.
Planned Parenthood in October opened a new clinic across the state line in Fairview Heights, where it planned to see patients from states with restrictive abortion laws.
Parson, a Republican running for a full term in November, said on Twitter after his speech that 鈥渨e are creating a culture in Missouri that protects women鈥檚 health and defends those who cannot defend themselves. Proud to stand with thousands at the Midwest March for Life today.鈥
His campaign said he was the first Missouri governor to speak at the Midwest March for Life.
Ruth Engling, 22, of Kansas City, traveled to Jefferson City with friends to march and hear from speakers.
Engling described the state of legal abortion as society鈥檚 鈥渃urrent holocaust.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 scarier than people think because it鈥檚 hidden,鈥 she said.
Engling said she appreciated Parson鈥檚 remarks, and his Christian faith, which she said she didn鈥檛 know much about before Saturday.
鈥淚 really enjoyed him,鈥 Engling said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really know anything about him at all.鈥
Abortion-rights activists did not cheer Parson鈥檚 speech.
鈥淕overnor Parson opposes reproductive freedom,鈥 M鈥橢vie Mead, director of policy and organizing at Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri, said in a statement.
鈥淗e has used every branch of Missouri government to try to eliminate access to reproductive health care 鈥 including signing an extreme abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest 鈥 all while ignoring the state鈥檚 shamefully high rates of infant and maternal mortality.鈥
鈥淧eople who have an abortion deserve compassion and access to the best health care available 鈥 not to be stigmatized and villainized by the governor of their state,鈥 she said.
Mead added that the group is supporting State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, in this year鈥檚 race for governor.