Missouri lawmakers override veto to enact abortion wait period

The Missouri state legislature enacted a 72-hour wait period for abortions yesterday, overriding Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto from earlier this year.

The Democratic governor had previously vetoed the legislation because it didn’t include exceptions for rape and incest. Missouri passed a 24-hour wait period in 2003 that also didn’t include rape and incest exceptions. The governor labeled the new bill “extreme and disrespectful” toward women.

The law, set to take effect in 30 days, places Missouri in second place for most stringent wait-period laws. North Dakota’s 72-hour wait period, the strictest in the country, doesn’t include weekends or holidays. Utah follows Missouri; its 72-hour wait period allows exceptions for rape, incest, and other extreme circumstances.

Missouri’s bill passed with bipartisan support, despite an attempted filibuster by Democratic senators. The vote was 117-44 in the House and 23-7 in the Senate.

The extended wait period will help women make more informed decisions about their abortions, said Missouri Right to Life President Pam Fichter. “This reflection time gives a woman time to contemplate her situation, research information about the dangers and consequences of abortion, and review the help and resources that are available to her through the alternatives-to-abortion program and other sources,” she said.

Planned Parenthood, which operates Missouri’s only licensed abortion facility, didn’t say whether it would challenge the legislation in court, but did say the legislation would make obtaining an abortion less convenient.

Linda Raymond of St. Louis said that if her abortion had been more inconvenient 38 years ago, along with having more available information and an ultrasound, she might have chosen to keep her child. “A 72-hour time frame is compassionate for women,” she said.

The legislature also overrode a veto of legislation that increases funding available to pregnancy resource centers through tax credits. Like the wait-period bill, it also passed with a bipartisan vote. “More and more women are choosing life and are in need of help and services,” Fichter said. “These bills work together to protect the women of Missouri and ensure that, in this matter of life and death, they don't make a decision that will have a detrimental effect on them both physically and emotionally.”

Missouri has a history of bipartisan support for pro-life bills. In 1999, Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass a bill prohibiting partial-birth abortions. The 2003 wait-period bill also passed with bipartisan support.

Missouri has successfully passed several other laws restricting abortion including laws limiting insurance coverage and public funding of abortions. Statistics demonstrate the laws’ success. Abortions in Missouri have decreased by a third since 1999,and several facilities have stopped providing abortions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.