2008 Legislative Round-Up

May 29, 2008, JEFFERSON CITY, MO –  The 2008 legislative session ended dismally on May 16, 2008 with legislators focusing on non-controversial bills and ignoring measures to regulate abortion and healthcare for needy Missourians. Of the145 bills which won final approval 31 were state budget bills and 63 were consent bills which are considered non-controversial and cannot be amended on the House or Senate floor.

Anti-Abortion: HB 1831, sponsored by Rep. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis), was passed by the House, but died without debate in the Senate. The bill would have made it a crime to threaten to fire a pregnant woman, take away her college scholarship, assault, abuse, threaten or stalk a woman to coerce her into getting an abortion against her will.

Senate leadership watered down the bill, seeking to appease pro-abortion legislators by removing provisions that prohibit coercion and left only provisions that are already the established law in other states. Some pro-life senators felt they had to negotiate with pro-abortion legislators because several other senators refused to support the necessary parliamentary procedures to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

“It is extremely frustrating the majority of the members of this General Assembly label themselves pro-life yet have failed to address the issue of coerced abortion in Missouri,” said Deacon Weber, Executive Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference.

The reality of trying to coerce a woman into getting an abortion against her will is finally coming to the forefront as the result of some high profile cases. In 1997, a jury awarded actress Hunter Tylo nearly $4 million for emotional distress and $894,601 for economic loss for being fired from her role on the television show "Melrose Place" after she became pregnant. Ms. Tylo was fired in early 1996 after telling producers she was pregnant and before appearing in a single episode. The actress sued the show’s producers claiming pregnancy discrimination, wrongful termination and breach of contract. Ms. Tylo sought $2.5 million in damage; however the jury awarded her nearly $5 million plus almost $1 million in attorney fees.

In May 2007, ESPN reported that at Clemson University that at least seven current or recently graduated student-athletes terminated their pregnancies primarily because they were afraid of losing their athletic scholarships. The story reported that student-athletes at Clemson were asked to sign an agreement that stated: "Pregnancy resulting in the inability to compete and positively contribute to the program's success will result in the modification of your grant-in-aid money."

Medical journals have described how pregnant women considering abortions have experienced assault and domestic violence. A June 2005 article of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded “Domestic violence is a pervasive health problem, particularly among abortion patients. Universal screening for domestic violence by all abortion providers is recommended.”  The Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Public Health have stated that homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women.

“Coerced abortion is a very real threat many women face today,” said Deacon Weber. “We need to do more to protect pregnant women who want to have their babies.”

Immigration: HB 1549, sponsored by Rep. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis), passed on the last day of the session and now awaits the governor’s signature. The bill bars illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits and imposes sanctions against employers who hire them. The bill also prohibits any municipality from adopting either a written or unwritten sanctuary policy in regards to undocumented persons. The MCC was successful in getting the bill amended to ensure it does not affect Catholic schools, religious ministries and not-for-profit agencies that provide assistance to undocumented persons. The original bill would have required that each agency verify the legal status of people who sought assistance. A food pantry for example, would have had to check the legal status of all recipients as it would violate anti-discrimination laws to check only those they suspect may not be lawfully present in the United States.

“This requirement would be very burdensome for not-for-profits and religious groups since they generally don’t have the manpower or resources to do such extensive checks,” said Mike Hoey, Assistant Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference. Mr. Hoey pointed out that the effect of the legislation would deny humanitarian aid to the very poor, regardless of citizenship status, because they often lack proper identification.

Death Penalty for Child Rapists: In the last week of the session Rep. Bryan Pratt (R-Blue Springs) offered an amendment enacting the death penalty for those who rape children. Several other amendments were added to SB 976 before the House gave the bill initial approval. The bill then had to return to the Senate and differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill had to be resolved. In the end a conference committee report was developed on SB 976 that excluded the death penalty provision, but the session ended before the bill could get final approval from the two chambers.

“While raping a child is a particularly heinous crime,” said Rita Linhardt of the Missouri Catholic Conference, “imposing the death penalty for child rape could have the opposite effect the law intended by increasing the trauma these children suffer, and placing child victims at greater risk of death.”

Ms. Linhardt pointed out that enacting the death penalty for child rape could reduce the chance of the rape being reported. Many child rapists know or are close to the victim’s family. If the death penalty is a possibility these relationships could lead victims, and family members who suspect the abuse, to remain silent rather than report the crime. Also, the possibility of the death penalty could create more of an incentive for the perpetrator to kill the victim and eliminate the witness.

Imposing the death penalty for child rape would also lead to an increased number of hearings and appeals, forcing victims called to testify to relive painful events and seriously disrupting their healing process. Studies have shown that child victims find testifying in criminal court to be traumatic, not cathartic. The extended appeals process that follows a death sentence could draw out the trauma and delay the healing process.

Uniform Anatomical Gift Act:  SB 1139, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Peters) and handled by Rep. Bryan Stevenson (R-Webb City) in the House, revises the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA). The bill was passed by the legislature and sent to Governor Matt Blunt for his approval or disapproval. Both the Senate and the House refused to include language protecting individuals decision to, or not to, donate their organs.

Currently there is a state registry which medical personnel can review that shows individuals who have signed up to be an organ donor. However, if a person refuses to make a gift, the bill does not allow that refusal to be recorded in the state registry. As a result an individual’s desire to revoke their original anatomical gift and not to donate their organs can be overridden by family members or medical personnel.

Health care: Insure Missouri sought to restore health coverage to many of the working poor who lost coverage due to the 2005 Medicaid cuts. The legislation to expand the Insure Missouri program, SB 1283, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Peters), passed through the Senate but Speaker of the House Rod Jetton (R-Marble Hill) ensured the bill died in the House. Rep. Jetton and Rep. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph) insisted that Insure Missouri legislation be linked to an overhaul of the state approval process for new healthcare facilities or the bill would not come up for debate in the House. The $353 million that had been set aside for Insure Missouri was eliminated from the budget during negotiations between the House and Senate before passage of the final state budget.

“The legislature had a chance to help Missouri citizens who are unable to afford healthcare by passing Governor Matt Blunt’s Insure Missouri,” said Mr. Hoey. “It’s very disappointing that lawmakers choose to let many Missourians continue to struggle with their healthcare needs.”