Protecting unborn life in Missouri

Today the Missouri General Assembly is pro-life, but that might not be the case tomorrow. Therefore, pro-life legislators must vote now to once and for all protect unborn life. The South Dakota legislature has passed legislation banning abortion, and a similar measure is advancing in Mississippi. Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. My question is simple: Does Missouri want to remain the Show-Me State or become the Wait-and-See State?

I have introduced in the Missouri Senate legislation outlawing abortion. Senate Bill 1248 would ban all abortions in Missouri unless the procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. Senate Joint Resolution 43 would establish constitutionally for Missouri a policy that protects "the life of an unborn child from conception until birth." If the legislation is passed by the legislature, the issue would be placed on the November ballot, giving Missourians the chance to decide whether or not to protect unborn innocent life.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade, technological advances and medical conclusions have refuted the court's opinion of when life begins. Ultrasounds, fetal heart rate monitors and DNA developments clearly show that a human being is conceived upon fertilization.

My legislation gives Missouri voters the say in whether the state should protect the sanctity of unborn life. This is a decision that voters should be able to make for themselves come this November. The issue is really that simple.

State Sen. JASON CROWELL, 27th District, Cape Girardeau