Ahead of Sunday’s 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, a group of clergy members announced a new lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion bans, during a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Video by Michele Munz, mmunz@post-di…
ST. LOUIS — More than a dozen faith leaders filed suit Thursday in ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court to overturn Missouri’s abortion ban, arguing state legislators acted based on their personal religious beliefs and violated the separation of church and state protected in Missouri’s Constitution.
The faith leaders, from ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Kansas City and Columbia, represent several Protestant and Jewish denominations. They partnered with the and in drafting the suit.
“What these abortion restrictions do is enshrine into law the particular narrow religious beliefs of the state officials who enacted these laws, and it forces all of us to live by these narrow beliefs,†said Michelle Banker, the NWLC’s director of reproductive rights and health.
Missouri bans abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. Providers who violate the ban can be charged with a felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison, and lose their medical license.
Missouri is among 14 states that have enacted laws either banning or greatly restricting access to abortion since the June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the constitutional right to abortion, .
Why is this lawsuit being filed in Missouri?
The state has long had an fighting for abortion access and robust laws protecting the separation of church and state, say those involved in the suit.
Legislators also openly invoked their personal religious beliefs as the reason for passing the abortion ban, they say.
“Missouri is an easy first case because of the state’s strong commitment to church-state separation, and because lawmakers said the quiet part out loud and made crystal clear that this ban is religiously motivated,†said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United.
Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, called the lawsuit “foolish.â€
“We were acting on the belief that life is precious and should be treated as such,†Rowden said. “I don’t think that’s a religious belief. And I think people need to understand what separation of church and state is. Most people don’t.â€
And Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, issued a statement Thursday saying that the attorney general’s office has won a similar suit in the past that landed before the Missouri Supreme Court.
“We look forward to doing it again,†Bailey stated. “I want Missouri to be the safest state in the nation for children, and that includes unborn children.â€
Conception
The faith leaders’ lawsuit lists several examples in which religious doctrine is mentioned in the effort to ban abortions:
The law itself begins with, “In recognition that Almighty God is the author of life ... it is the intention of the General Assembly to defend the right to life of all humans, born and unborn.â€
The law states that “the life of each human being begins at conception,†defined as the fertilization of the ovum by a sperm.
The lead sponsor of the bill banning abortion, then-Rep. Nick Schroer, a Republican from St. Charles County, argued that “as a Catholic, I do believe life begins at conception, and that is built into our legislative findings.†Schroer is now a member of the Missouri Senate.
Another co-sponsor, Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Cape Girardeau County, stated that “from the Biblical side of it … life does occur at the point of conception.â€
Rep. Ben Baker, R-Newton County, said, “From the one-cell stage at the moment of conception, you were already there … you equally share the image of our Creator.â€
And then-Rep. Holly Thompson Rehder, a Republican from Sikeston, urged passage of the ban by stating: “God doesn’t give us a choice in this area. He is the creator of life. And I, being made in His image and likeness, don’t get to choose to take that away, no matter how that child came to be. To me, life begins at conception, and my God doesn’t give that option.†Thompson Rehder, like Schroer, is a state senator now.
Banker says the legislators showed their cards during their arguments.
“It makes Missouri a particularly special place to bring a suit like this,†she said. “It’s just so clear that these abortion bans were religiously motivated. The legislators were unequivocal about it.â€
The plaintiffs
The conservative Christian notions of conception run contrary to the religious and moral beliefs of others, the lawsuit argues.
The 13 religious leaders filing the suit argue that their faith calls them to ensure abortion access because of how it affects a pregnant person’s autonomy, health, economic security and equality.
Among them are the , the first openly gay Black bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. He follows the that the decision to have an abortion is a personal one and “an integral part of a woman’s struggle to assert her dignity and worth as a human being.â€
The , who serves as a minister at Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood and First Unitarian Church in Alton, said her faith places trust in an individual’s ability to make moral decisions about their bodies.
Rabbi Andrea Goldstein at the , the largest congregation for Reform Judaism in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area, says her faith rejects the notion that abortion terminates human life and gives priority to the safety and well-being of the pregnant person.
Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, said she must consider the experience and needs of a pregnant person seeking counseling from her about continuing the pregnancy.
“Judaism demands of me that my first priority must be to the living, breathing, fully-formed person sitting in front of me,†Neiss said.
Some of the plaintiffs share that they have had abortions themselves as teens, including Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The Rev. Cynthia Bumb, a retired United Church of Christ minister in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, had an abortion after her fertilized egg failed to develop into an embryo; and Rep. Barbara Phifer, D-Kirkwood, a United Methodist pastor for more than 40 years, experienced a failed miscarriage in 1978 and had to leave the state in order to get an abortion she needed to prevent serious complications.
Reproductive and religious freedoms are tied at the hip, Laser says. “Reproductive freedom means that every pregnant person gets to make their own decisions about their own bodies according to their own religious and moral beliefs.â€
Webster University Political Science Professor Gwyneth Williams, who teaches courses involving religion and politics, said legislators can support laws because of their religious beliefs, just as many have advanced civil rights protections because of their religious beliefs.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that the law itself is imposing a religious belief,†Williams said.
However, religious interpretations and preferences written into the statute itself could be problematic, she said. “That could put it at greater risk.â€
‘A trailblazer’
The lawsuit refers to three sections in Article I of the Missouri Constitution that prohibit the government from establishing preferences for any particular faith.
They include , which states that “no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience,†and , which states “no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made against any church, sect or creed of religion nor any form of religious faith or worship.â€
The plaintiffs argue that state funds are unlawfully being used to enforce a religiously motivated abortion ban.
Those named in the suit include the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, the board overseeing the licenses of health providers and the health department.
A handful of challenging abortion restrictions have been filed in states such as , and . Banker and Laser say this suit is unique in that it argues Missouri’s ban violates the state constitution and should be nullified.
“Our lawsuit is a trailblazer,†Laser said, “because rather than seeking a religious exemption from the abortion ban, we are challenging the entire ban as a violation of church-state separation.â€
Banker acknowledges, however, that obtaining an abortion in Missouri will take more than winning the lawsuit. Even before the state’s abortion ban was enacted, the procedure had become nearly nonexistent because of onerous laws and restrictions.
“It won’t necessarily restore access to abortion in the state …,†she said. “But we are hopeful that this lawsuit will be the first step in improving access to abortion.â€
Jack Suntrup of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Updated at 2:50 p.m.
Photos: Faith leaders file lawsuit, say Missouri legislators violated church and state separation
Photos: Abortion protests in ºüÀêÊÓƵ since 1973
1973 - Anti-abortion protest along North Euclid
1977 - Abortion protesters on SLU's campus
1978 - Abortion rights supporters in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ
1978 - Abortion protesters
1979 - Anti-abortion protest near the Arch
1980 - Anti-abortion protest in Kiener Plaza
1980 - Anti-abortion protest along Market Street
1985 - Abortion rights protest in CWE church
1986 - Abortion rights protesters at SLU
1989 - Abortion rights protesters in Forest Park
1991 - Anti-abortion protest during 'Life Chain'
2005 - Anti-abortion protest in Granite City
2005 - Abortion rights protest at Planned Parenthood
2005 - Anti-abortion protest at Planned Parenthood
2008 - Anti-abortion protest at Planned Parenthood
2017 - Abortion rights protest along Lindell
2017 - Anti-abortion protest at Planned Parenthood
2019 - Anti-abortion protest in ºüÀêÊÓƵ
2019 - Abortion rights protest in downtown
2019 - Abortion rights protest in state capitol
2019 - Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists protest at clinic
2019 - Abortion rights rally results in arrests downtown
2019 - Abortion rights rally results in arrests downtown
2019 - Anti-abortion protesters hold rally outside Planned Parenthood clinic
2021 - Anti-Abortion advocates rally in ºüÀêÊÓƵ on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade
2021 - Planned Parenthood ºüÀêÊÓƵ
2022 - Hundreds attend abortion rights rally at Kiener Plaza
2022 - Anti-abortion activists hold weekly prayer vigil
2022 - Roe v. Wade overturned by the Supreme Court
Charlotte Dubois, 14, is in a dangerous Catch-22: too sick to find a home, but unable to get the transplant she needs because she doesn’t have a home.
Providers worry that pregnant women faced with life-threatening conditions are not getting appropriate care because of the state’s ban.
The Rev. Cindy Bumb, from left, the Rev. Deon Johnson, the Rev. Traci Blackmon and the Rev. Barbara Phifer sing on the steps of the Civil Courts building following a news conference announcing a lawsuit challenging Missouri's abortion ban on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Missouri State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, speaks on the floor of the House on Friday, May 17, 2019, as Rep. LaDonna Appelbaum, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, listens before the chamber voted to pass his bill that would virtually ban all abortions in the state. The chamber acted on the final day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.Â
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, holds hands with Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation before a press conference announcing a lawsuit challenging Missouri's abortion ban on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Over a dozen Missouri faith leaders filed the lawsuit, saying legislators violated the separation of church and state by acting on their personal religious beliefs to create the ban. Photo by Christine Tannous, ctannous@post-dispatch.com