STOP Criminalizing Abortion Patients & Doctors

I urge you to strongly oppose HB1667 (Seitz), HB2284 (Jones), SB999 (Hudson), and SB1221 (Brattin). These bills are a deceptive and cruel political ploy masquerading as compassion. They weaponize the extremely rare scenario of an abortion resulting in a live birth—a tragic outcome often stemming from the very lack of access to comprehensive, early reproductive care that these legislators consistently oppose. The provisions are not about protecting infants; they are about terrorizing healthcare providers, criminalizing standard medical care, and opening a floodgate of predatory lawsuits against patients and their supporters. By creating severe criminal penalties and a broad civil cause of action, these bills aim to intimidate doctors out of providing any abortion care at all, fearing devastating legal repercussions. In addition, they empower strangers to sue an abortion patient’s partner, parent, or even a friend who provided emotional support, for “wrongful death” of an “unborn child.” This is a direct assault on bodily autonomy and personal liberty, designed to surveil and punish people for their private medical decisions. These bills cynically exploit heart-wrenching scenarios to achieve their true goal: the total eradication of abortion access in Missouri. They place politicians above doctors, empower anti-choice vigilantes, and push reproductive care further into the shadows, endangering lives. We must reject these dangerous bills and instead fight for policies that ensure all people have access to safe, legal, and compassionate healthcare without fear or interference.