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Missouri minors may not be able to avoid parental consent for abortions

March 6, 2003
By: Megan Murphy
State Capital Bureau

Minors seeking abortions in Missouri may no longer be able to skip state lines to avoid having to get parental consent.

The Senate gave first round approval to a bill that makes it illegal to transport young women to other states for abortions. Under the bill, anyone who helps minors break the law could be prosecuted.

Arguments over the bill, along with a filibuster, extended debate for hours.

Abortion rights advocates, including Senator Ken Jacob, say focus needs to be on family planning to help prevent teen pregnancies before abortion becomes an issue.

Actuality:JABABORT.WAV
RunTime: 15
OutCue: "prevent pregnancies"


Contents: "And there's only one way, there's only one way that story could have been prevented. And that's preventing that child from getting pregnant when she didn't want to. And family planning has been proven to prevent pregnancies."

Senator John Loudon sponsored the bill in response to ads in Illinois phone books that advocate violating Missouri's parental consent law. He says almost 400 minors leave Missouri every year to avoid disappointing their parents.

In Jefferson City, I'm Megan Murphy for Missouri Capitol Caucus.