The governor of Missouri, Republican Mike Parson, signed this Friday the first of the “activation” laws with which twenty-six states in the country plan to ban abortion, once the Supreme Court struck down this right on Friday after 49 years of validity.
Missouri law prohibits doctors and health personnel from performing abortions unless a medical emergency arises. Apart from that exception, any person who performs or induces an abortion will be exposed to sentences of 5 to 10 years in prison. The law, however, prohibits the persecution and prosecution of women who abort.
The text is called “Law on the right to life of the unborn child”. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt issued the ruling that gives effect to it and according to him “effectively ends abortion in Missouri, making it the first state in the country to do so after the Supreme Court ruling,” he said in a press release. .
The governor and signer of the provision that activates the law, for his part, alluded to one of the fragments of the Supreme Court resolution to underline that “nothing in the text, history or tradition of the Constitution of the United States granted unelected federal judges the authority to regulate abortion.
Parson added: “We are happy that the US Supreme Court has corrected this mistake and returned the power to the people and the states to make these decisions.”
Although the Missouri rule provides for its entry into force immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, this Friday it was not entirely clear at what exact moment that will become a reality. Because, as the governor pointed out, a dispute that keeps the application of the law in suspense must still be resolved.
Of the other 25 states that are preparing to do the same as Missouri, twelve have already approved and ready for more or less immediate application “activation” laws to prohibit abortion in their territories. They are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
