A committee has passed a bill that would bar abortions of fetuses deemed capable of living outside the womb.
The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks unless two doctors verify that a fetus is either not viable or is a medical threat to the mother.
(R, Cassville) chairs the .
"We're dealing with late term abortions," Sater said. "I don't think that anybody that has, in my estimation, a heart at all would want to destroy a baby over 20 weeks in the womb."
Paula Gianino is President and CEO of . She says the bill is unnecessary because Roe v. Wade does not give women the right to abort a viable fetus unless the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother.
Meanwhile, (D, Hazelwood) cast the committee's lone "no" vote.
"Women who need an abortion, perhaps they have a severe abnormality, will not be able to get the abortion because doctors or hospitals fear that somehow they will be entangled in a legal mess," McNeil said.
Under the bill, doctors who abort a viable fetus that doesn't threaten the mother's life or health could spend up to a year in prison and be fined between $10,000 and $50,000.
It next goes to the , and if it passes there, will move to the House floor for debate.
