Missouri’s New Bill Would Prohibit Abortion of Life-Threatening Ectopic Pregnancies
In Missouri, a legislative panel considered a Republican-sponsored bill that would make it illegal to abort an ectopic pregnancy.
The bill, HB 2810, aims to make illegal the trafficking of machinery or drugs to induce abortion, even in the case of ectopic pregnancy. If this bill becomes law, it will have serious consequences on women’s health in Missouri.
NEW
— Kate Smith (@byKateSmith) March 10, 2022
A bill in Missouri makes illegal to get an abortion if the patient has an ectopic pregnancy.
Facts about ectopic pregnancies:
– They’re are not viable. Full stop.
– They’re the 1 cause of death for 1st trimester patients.
Here’s the proposed law:https://t.co/0SlpVG20Wt pic.twitter.com/CKTluxsrep
OB/GYN Dr. Brooke Vandermolen discussed the ramifications of ectopic pregnancies, “In an ectopic pregnancy, the [fertilized] egg implants and begins to develop outside of the uterus (most commonly in the fallopian tube). Sadly, ectopic pregnancies cannot survive and they can pose a significant danger to the mother. This is because, as an ectopic pregnancy develops and gets larger, it can burst (or ‘rupture’), damaging the mother’s anatomy and causing internal bleeding.”
Dr. Vandermolen clarified that ectopic pregnancies are non-viable, “Although the pregnancy may have a heartbeat at the time of diagnosis, it is not possible to move and re-implant the pregnancy so that it can continue its development.” It is in the interests of the patient’s health to terminate, as the pregnancy will not develop properly.
Gotta feeling that the Missouri state legislature for real just looks at bills passed in other states and asks “How can we be worse?”
— Marquis Govan (@MarquisGovan1) March 10, 2022
This bill is only one in an ongoing effort to restrict the right to choose in the United States. The Supreme Court is currently deliberating over a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks. If the law holds, it would pose serious damage to Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal in the United States until fetal viability nearly 50 years ago.
