Missouri senators early Thursday morning passed legislation to require new abortion restrictions, such as annual health inspections of clinics, and to overturn a St. Louis ordinance that bans discrimination based on the procedure.
The measure passed 20-8 after little public debate between senators and now heads to the House.
Lawmakers in Missouri, a state that already has some of the nation's toughest abortion laws, are weighing the legislation after Republican Gov. Eric Greitens called a special legislative session to tackle policies on the procedure.
Greitens said he called the special session, the second since lawmakers ended their annual session in May, in reaction to the St. Louis ordinance banning discrimination based on "reproductive health decisions" and a federal judge's ruling that struck down some Missouri abortion restrictions passed by previous legislative sessions.
The ruling, which the state is appealing, tossed out requirements that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, and that clinics meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery. Greitens wants lawmakers to enact other restrictions on clinics in place of those that were struck down.
Also pending are applications by regional Planned Parenthood agencies to the health department seeking to get licenses to provide abortions in Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City and Springfield. Planned Parenthood now only offers the procedure in St. Louis.
Missouri is one of only five states that requires women to wait 72 hours after receiving counseling before getting an abortion, which according to the Guttmacher Institute is the nation's longest waiting period. The institute is a national organization that supports abortion rights. Missouri also already bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions, one of 17 states with that limit.
The measure would also allow the state attorney general, now abortion opponent Republican Josh Hawley, authority to prosecute violations of abortion laws. But senators tempered that power, adding a stipulation that the state's top law enforcement official can only step in if local officials don't act.
Other provisions include time limits of five business days for abortion clinics to submit fetal tissue samples from abortions for examination by pathologists, who would get 72 hours to submit a report. Currently, there are no deadlines.
Some Republican lawmakers have been trying to pass more stringent laws dealing with fetal tissue since the 2015 release of undercover videos by anti-abortion activists, who said the videos showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of tissue. Planned Parenthood officials have said clinics in the state do not participate in fetal-tissue donation programs.
The legislation also would require the state's health department to review fetal tissue reports and check for discrepancies. If any are found, the agency would have to reach out to the hospital or abortion clinic where the procedure was performed to ensure laws are being followed. Noncompliance by clinics or hospitals would trigger an unannounced inspection.
The latest version of the legislation does not ban abortion clinic workers from asking ambulances to drive without sirens or lights, a change called for by Greitens.
