Missouri considers Texas-style law to stop out-of-state abortions
Missouri's state legislature is considering a proposal that would empower private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri woman obtain an abortion, even if the abortion takes place in another state, Politico reported Saturday.
"If a Missouri resident is hurt, even in Illinois, by a product that they bought in Illinois, there is still jurisdiction for them to sue in a Missouri court because that's home for them ... this is extending that same kind of thought to abortion jurisprudence," state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who is pushing the policy in the form of amendments to health bills, told Politico.
The Texas Heartbeat Act, which allows private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" a woman in obtaining an abortion, uses a similar enforcement mechanism but does not apply to out-of-state abortions.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In December, Joel Mathis argued at The Week that the Texas law has been craftily designed to avoid federal judicial review but that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey soon, removing the need for the Texas "workaround."
Twelve states have "trigger bans" on the books that will ban abortion if the court overturns or guts these precedents, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, blue states have also been scrambling to enshrine abortion access in state law while pro-choice activists work to establish an "Underground Railroad" to help women from states that restrict abortion terminate their pregnancies at out-of-state clinics, NBC News reported.
Even if a Supreme Court ruling renders Texas-style bans obsolete within red states, Coleman's proposal signals that they could still have a role to play in preventing women from obtaining abortions across state lines.
Politico notes that legal experts say the battle over interstate abortion access could raise legal issues that have lain dormant since the Fugitive Slave Act helped trigger the Civil War.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is academic freedom in peril?
Today's Big Question Faculty punishments are on the rise
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Moldova's pro-West president wins 2nd term
Speed Read Maia Sandu beat Alexandr Stoianoglo, despite suspicions of Russia meddling in the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
2024 race ends with swing state barnstorming
Speed Read Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held rallies in battlegrounds over the weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
North Korea tests ICBM, readies troops in Ukraine
Speed Read Thousands of North Korean troops are likely to join Russian action against Ukraine
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Women take center stage in campaign finale
Speed Read Harris and Trump are trading gender attacks in the final days before the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Supreme Court allows purge of Virginia voter rolls
Speed Read Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is purging some 1,600 people from state voter rolls days before the election
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prison
Speed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada accuses top Modi ally of directing Sikh attacks
Speed Read Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was allegedly behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published