Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt issued an opinion allowing the state’s law banning abortion except in the case of a medical emergency to take effect Friday.
The trigger law is known as the Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act and stipulates that, “any person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion of an unborn child in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a class B felony, as well as subject to suspension or revocation of his or her professional license by his or her professional licensing board.”
“This opinion immediately restores Missouri’s deeply rooted history and proud tradition of respecting, protecting, and promoting the life of the unborn,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in the opinion. (RELATED: ‘Save Countless Innocent Lives’: Republicans Cheer End Of Roe V. Wade)
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, the abortion issue is now the prerogative of individual states. Many states have laws on the books which, in a post-Roe America, can take effect and ban abortion in that state.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has issued an opinion triggering Missouri’s anti-abortion law.
Abortion is now illegal in Missouri.
— Daniel Desrochers (@drdesrochers) June 24, 2022
“Today, the overruling of Roe and Casey permits Missouri to renew its proud pro-life traditions and restore basic legal protection for the most fundamental of human rights — the right to life,” Schmitt said.
Attorney General Schmitt noted in the opinion that the Supreme Court of Missouri upheld a state ban on abortion in 1972.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Following the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Missouri has just become the first in the country to effectively end abortion with our AG opinion signed moments ago. This is a monumental day for the sanctity of life. pic.twitter.com/Jphy72R4rq
— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022
Missouri is the first state to use trigger laws to ban abortion following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Following the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Missouri has just become the first in the country to effectively end abortion with our AG opinion signed moments ago,” Schmitt’s office wrote on Twitter. “This is a monumental day for the sanctity of life.”
