Missouri Senate committee passes resolution if Roe v. Wade is overturned

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - A Missouri Senate Committee passed a resolution on Tuesday addressing if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade abortion decision.

State Senator Justin Brown, a Republican from Phelps County, sponsored the resolution. It connects a provision in a Missouri anti-abortion law in 2019 making all abortions illegal in the state other than ones deemed medically necessary. The Senate committee passed the resolution with little discussion.

“The legislature passed House Bill 126, also known as the heartbeat bill. This resolution serves the General Assembly’s notice, pursuant to the provisions of Section 180 8.017, that the right to life of the unborn child act shall be effective upon the issuance by the United States Supreme Court, overruling Roe versus Wade,” said State Senator Brown.

A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision suggests the country’s highest court could overturn the constitutional right to abortion. The decision would allow individual states to regulate or even ban the procedure.

Samuel Lee works for Campaign Life, an organization against abortion.

”This is a historic moment, but it’s also a somber moment. We’ve had nearly 50 years of legalized abortion in this country,” said Lee.

Advocates for abortion say they fear the day Roe v. Wade is overturned.

”We’ve been saying for a long time, now, that Roe was never safe. And frankly, Roe was never enough, to begin with. We know that this so-called trigger ban is essentially inevitable,” said Maggie Olivia, an advocate at Pro-Choice Missouri.

The Supreme Court is likely to decide the future of abortion rights later this summer.

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