Missouri AG lays out plans to enforce abortion laws despite amendment
Parental notification laws are a key component of his antiabortion agenda.
A letter written by Missouri’s Attorney General to its incoming governor sheds light on how the state will enforce abortion laws following the passage of a constitutional amendment that protects access up to the point of viability.
Missouri AG Andrew Bailey wrote a letter about his approach to abortion to Governor-Elect Mike Kehoe after being asked to do so. From the outset of the letter, Bailey took a tone that questioned the election results.
“In a contest where the ‘yes’ side was able in effect to rewrite the ballot summary language, received tens of millions of dollars in funding from out of state, and outspent the ‘no’ side 6 to 1, this tight margin suggests the result may be very different if a future constitutional amendment is put up for a vote,” Bailey wrote.
Bailey went on to say that some abortion laws would be unenforceable. The ban and restrictions at eight, 14, and 18 weeks would be moot. But once the viability threshold passes, Bailey said they can enforce the laws. He also said that he would enforce parental notification laws.
Most parental notification laws permit adolescents a legal recourse to get abortions even if their parents don’t allow it. But Bailey said that with the Dobbs decision, parents have a total right to prohibit abortions. It also would target parents who are pressuring their children to get abortions as well. Bailey claimed that’s also against the law.
The combination of both allowing parents to deny them abortions and then pressuring parents to tell them to continue with it will have a chilling effect on reproductive care for teenagers. Providers can be prosecuted for doing an abortion without a parent’s approval. And a parent can be charged if it’s construed that their child got an abortion against their will because of pressure placed on them. I’m sure frivolous allegations could present themselves in scenarios where this could occur. The result would be parents would be less likely to tell them to get an abortion.
The letter goes on to claim that abortions have coerced women into getting one. Bailey said that is against the law.
“It would defy logic to say that an amendment meant to give a right to an abortion (while eliminating the unborn child’s rights) could instead be twisted into a tool enabling abusers and oppressors to coerce abortion,” Bailey wrote.