JEFFERSON CITY — Despite recent blowups among Republicans in the Missouri Senate, the majority party remained unified Wednesday to block a Democratic effort to legalize abortion in cases of rape or incest.
After Republicans opened debate on a plan to ban Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, Democrats responded with amendments aimed at loosening Missouri’s near-total abortion ban. Missouri since June 2022 has only allowed abortions in medical emergencies.
While the Democratic amendments weren’t likely to pass, the minority party used the opportunity to showcase and document Republican support for what Democrats believe is an unpopular abortion law out of step with public opinion.
All Republicans present voted down amendments by Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, to legalize abortion in cases of rape and incest.
Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo, said she opposed exceptions for rape and incest because life is precious. “God is perfect. God does not make mistakes. And for some reason he allows that to happen — bad things happen,†she said. “I’m not gonna be able to support the amendments because I am very pro-life.â€
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The Senate ended debate for the night before a vote could occur on an amendment by Sen. Doug Beck, D-south ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, which would authorize abortion if the pregnant girl was 12 or younger. Beck raised concerns about health issues for child rape victims forced to carry their pregnancies to term.
The amendment led to a pointed exchange between Beck and Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, who is running for governor.
“You want to bring back the institution of abortion so that kids can get abortions in the state of Missouri,†Eigel said to Beck. “A 1-year-old could get an abortion under this,†Eigel said.
“I don’t know that a 1-year-old could get pregnant, senator,†Beck said.
“You’re OK with forced birth of a child being raped, right?†Beck asked Eigel.
“I don’t support the institutions of rape or of incest. But your amendment doesn’t address those,†Eigel said.
The votes Wednesday followed the move by Republicans to open debate on the Planned Parenthood defunding bill — an action that frustrated Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield.
The Springfield Republican’s measure renewing a medical provider tax critical to funding the state’s Medicaid program had been first on the Senate’s list of bills to be debated.
But Eigel and other hard-line allies had threatened to hold up the renewal bill, known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance.
The faction known as the Freedom Caucus wanted action instead on a plan to make constitutional amendments more difficult to enact and a measure expanding an education voucher program first approved in 2021.
The plan Republicans put into motion on Wednesday set all three proposals aside, but not before Hough vented on the Senate floor.
“It’s one of those funding mechanisms for hospitals and nursing homes ... that has to get done. It’s $4.5 billion,†Hough said.
The winding legislative roadmap delighted Eigel, who has served as the Senate’s resident obstructionist in recent years.
Hough was among Republican senators standing behind Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden earlier this year as the Senate president stripped Eigel and allies of their committee chairmanships.
“I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to see you have to come out here and throw a temper tantrum because you’re not getting your way,†Eigel told Hough.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, said the House will likely take up its own version of the “defund Planned Parenthood†legislation next week.
He said the decision wasn’t a reaction to the ongoing gridlock in the Senate.
“We’re doing it because we stand for life. We’re working on things we can work on in the House,†Plocher said Thursday.