House Seeks to Protect Women and the Unborn

This week the Missouri House third read and passed House Bill 400, sponsored by Representative Jeanie Riddle (R-49). This legislation will ban web-cam abortions in the state of Missouri and ensure that women will meet with a doctor, in person, in the same room while receiving an RU-486 abortion. This legislation protects women from an industry that is seeking to make a profit by providing sub-standard care to women.

During a web-cam abortion, a doctor can sit in front of a computer at a remote location – even in another state – and give the thumbs up for the abortifacient, RU-486, to be administered by a nurse. A woman takes the first dose of this drug, which starves the baby, at the office. She then is sent home with a second pill that induces labor.

The tragedy is that women seeking abortions of any kind are already in a difficult situation. Proponents of chemical abortions say that women can expel their baby surrounded by who they choose. But the truth is these women are often alone. Web-cam abortions only intensify that isolation. If complications arise because of the side effects that RU-486 can cause, the woman has no trusted doctor to call. Meanwhile, she is charged the same amount of money for the chemical abortion as for a surgical abortion, while the clinic saves all the expense of getting a doctor to come and supervise. Clinics are turning a profit at the expense of women—that is unacceptable.

 
HB 400 is about protecting women’s health and safety. While it is tragic if a woman makes the choice to abort her baby, she should still have access to the utmost quality care of a physician. It is already heartbreaking to lose one life – why put the life of the woman at risk, too? One hundred and fifteen members of the House of Representatives, in a veto proof bipartisan manner, agree and have sent this bill to the Senate.