State, federal abortion bills advance

Since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision 30 years ago, the never-ebbing debate about abortion has been torturous for those on both sides of the issue and especially for women struggling with the decision about whether to have one.

It also has been haunting the halls -- as it has again and again -- of lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. A recent bill from the Missouri Senate approved legislation that would allow parents to sue anyone who enables a minor daughter to have an abortion without their consent.

Senators didn't decide this lightly. The measure is being considered because of concerns that underage girls in Missouri can obtain abortions in Illinois without parental consent.

Missouri law allows abortions for girls 17 or younger only with the permission of at least one parent or guardian, a court's consent or a court order saying that the girl is mature enough to make up her own mind.

The new law would allow parents to sue a boyfriend or school counselor, for example, for providing money or transportation. The bill limits damages to $1,000.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate earlier this month voted overwhelmingly to ban partial-birth abortions, a ghastly procedure that is done during the third trimester of pregnancy.

The procedure involves a doctor partially extracting a fetus, legs first, from the uterus into the birth canal, where the doctor then collapses the skull by suctioning its contents.

Most ordinary Americans find this procedure alarming. In fact, public opinion polls show 70 percent support a ban.

But not everyone is in favor of the ban or the Missouri law that would allow parents to sue people who aid their daughters in obtaining abortions.

To pro-choice advocates, any law seeking to outlaw any aspect of abortion is regarded as an arrow aimed at the heart of the Supreme Court's 30-year-old decision.

That's not true. These laws aren't attempts to do away with a woman's reproductive rights. As a matter of fact, in the U.S. Senate there was a nonbinding vote in support of Roe v. Wade.

Additionally, both sides of the debate agree that the partial-birth abortion ban would have virtually no effect on first-trimester abortions, which account for nearly 90 percent of all abortions in the United States.

So it comes down to this: While it's true that these bills would likely not have been considered if Congress and the Missouri Legislature were not under Republican control, the laws themselves both simply address and regulate aspects of abortion that needed it. That is something that should happen regardless of which party is in power.