02/19/2008

By DAVID A. LIEB  / Associated Press

Husbands and wives can divorce in Missouri without needing a reason. But abortion opponents want to make it a crime if a man threatens divorce to pressure his wife into an abortion.

Spouses, boyfriends, parents, bosses and school officials also could face new abortion coercion charges under a proposal pending in the Missouri Legislature. The bill would make it illegal, for example, to threaten to kick a pregnant female out of the home, cut off financial support, fire her or revoke a scholarship if she does not have an abortion.

Anti-abortion activists say the bill is necessary to protect women.

Critics claim the legislation would cause havoc in family law courts and infringe on free speech rights.

The new crime of abortion coercion is packaged with proposals that also would require a woman be given the option of seeing an ultrasound of her fetus before having abortion and be instructed that an abortion may cause pain to the fetus.

The proposal also would require abortion clinics to prominently display signs intended to cause women to have second thoughts. The signs would declare: "There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you carry you child to term, and to assist you and your child after your child is born." They would add: "The state of Missouri encourages you to contact those agencies before making a final decision about abortion."

A House committee heard testimony Tuesday on the legislation; a Senate committee heard testimony on a similar bill Monday night.

Supporters have focused on the regrets of women who have had abortions.

The lead witness in both chambers was Kendra Mathewson, 40, of Lee's Summit, who said she had abortions at ages 19 and 20 while a college student in Kansas. At the time, she believed the fetuses were "just a mass of tissue, not a baby." Her viewpoint didn't change until — while holding her own baby — she saw a museum display on the stages of fetal development.

"If I had seen my child growing inside me through ultrasound technology, I know I would have had the courage to do what I needed to for their lives," Mathewson told lawmakers Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood officials said ultrasounds already are used at their abortion clinics, and women already have the option to view them. Likewise, "we take lots of measures to make sure women are not coerced into having an abortion," said Michelle Trupiano, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri.

If the words or actions are not otherwise illegal, the legislation would make an attempt to coerce an abortion a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. But if the coercion includes something already a crime — such as domestic abuse or stalking — the legislation would enhance the penalty with a longer prison term.

Lara Underwood, a family law attorney in Jefferson City, warned the bill could undermine Missouri's no-fault divorce laws, as well its child support and custody procedures.

"We're putting a burden on a husband who may want to get a divorce for a myriad of reasons," she said. "You're really going to cause more problems in the field of divorce and family law than you're going to solve with this."

John Coffman, an attorney for the eastern Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the broad definition of coercion also has "strong free speech concerns." The legislation essentially is intruding into pillow talk and kitchen-table conversations, he said.

"Often things are said in a family in the heat of the moment," Coffman said. "Those individuals may or may not mean it."

Supporters said all aspects of the Missouri legislation are intended to ensure women give their informed consent to an abortion — something already required, but with lesser detail, in Missouri law.

In 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the a 2003 law requiring physicians to wait 24 hours after conferring with women before performing abortions. That law required the consultation to cover such things as "the indicators and contraindicators" and the "physical, psychological and situational" risk factors associated with abortions.

The latest Missouri proposal also "is constitutionally sound," said Mailee Smith, of the Chicago-based Americans United for Life. She said states have leeway to enact laws to ensure women considering abortions understand the risks.

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Abortion bills are HB1831 and SB1058.

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov