State lawmakers convened on Monday for the start of a special session dealing with abortion laws in Missouri.
Gov. Eric Greitens called for the special session in response to a federal ruling last year in a Texas case that impacts “clinic shutdown laws” in other states.
The special session will focus on a number of key abortion issues, including annual inspections of abortion facilities, requiring the facilities to have plans for complications, and possible changes to a St. Louis city ordinance banning discrimination in the workplace and at housing complexes against women who have had or are considering an abortion.
On Monday, North Kansas City prenatal nurse Mary Helm welcomed the start of the special session.
“There are safety issues that need to be in place to protect the moms that are using these facilities,” explained Helm, who also helps lead a pro-life group at St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri. “Emergencies happen really fast and if you don't have facilities equipped to handle that, you can lose the baby and you can lose the mom."
Helm told 41 Action News that she became particularly interested in pro-life causes after the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973.
In regards to the special session, she hoped lawmakers would pass measures she believed could help protect babies and mothers.
"We need to have the facilities be monitored so they are regularly inspected,” she explained. “We need to have providers at those facilities be licensed."
The meeting of lawmakers in Jefferson City on abortion issues was met with criticism from some groups.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains called into question the cost of holding the special session.
According to the Missouri Democratic Party, each day of the special session will cost taxpayers at least $20,000 to pay the lawmakers.
“This session is taking $20,000 a day that could be used to pay for birth control, to pay for benefits to pay to low-income families to make it easier to raise a family,” explained Planned Parenthood Great Plains Regional Director of Public Policy and Organizing Elise Higgins.
“They're paying $20,000 a day for the governor to score political points off women's backs," Higgins said.
Higgins questioned the need to overturn the St. Louis ordinance and said such a move could end up impacting the metro area.
“If the city of St Louis is prevented from protecting their citizens from discrimination, that same kind of principle could apply to Kansas City,” she explained. “This legislation that Governor Greitens is calling for allows for discrimination and is not necessary for patients’ safety. In fact, it's really just an intrusion into the private lives of Missouri women."
Higgins said Planned Parenthood planned to send groups of supporters to the capital on Wednesday to rally against the special session.
“Fundamentally, this is about government intrusion and personal decisions,” she explained.
It is unknown how long the special session will last.
