Comments on: Missouri abortion waiting period bill: a veto override is imminent

Missouri abortion waiting period bill: a veto override is imminent

ghostbikes — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:28:43 -0800

Republican legislators in Missouri are pushing to expand abortion restrictions in the state. A bill mandating a 72-hour waiting period, vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon in July, is likely to become law on Wednesday in a special legislative session.

Like Mississippi (previously), Missouri is one of 6 states in the U.S. that has a single public abortion clinic. Under the current laws, patients must sign a consent form, be offered literature on abortion risks and alternatives, be provided an opportunity to view an ultrasound, and then wait 24 hours before undergoing the procedure. HB 1307 would give Missouri one of the country's strictest limits on abortion. According to STL Today, it would make Missouri the second most stringent behind South Dakota, whose 72-hour wait can extend past that because weekends and holidays are not counted. Utah is the only other state with a 72-hour delay, but it grants exceptions for rape, incest and other circumstances, which the Missouri bill does not. In his veto letter, Governor Nixon wrote that the measure "serves no demonstrable purpose other than to create emotional and financial hardships for women" (relevant NY Times editorial). The Missouri constitution allows for up to 10 days to consider veto overrides, although most sessions are over in a few hours. Multiple protests are scheduled in the state capital on Wednesday, the first day of the session. A coalition of groups including Planned Parenthood and the Missouri ACLU, organized the Stand With Missouri Women (#StandWithMOWomen) protest in favor of sustaining Nixon's veto. However, proponents of the veto override (#ShowMeLife) are very optimistic, and have already scheduled a celebration rally for 4PM.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 01:18:05 -0800

Youth really need to get out the vote. The hippies are dying. They aren't carrying the load any more. The pernicious social conservative/religious/corporate/power groups will always exert regressive pressure. Activism is the only way we move forward. Youth need to vote, to be political.

By: Old'n'Busted

Old'n'Busted — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:08:31 -0800

no demonstrable purpose other than to create emotional and financial hardships for women Dude, that's the fucking point.

By: sonic meat machine

sonic meat machine — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:48:28 -0800

Youth really need to get out the vote. The hippies are dying. The biggest hippie I ever knew voted for Romney. He claimed that Obamacare would "roll back years of progress" if it wasn't repealed.

By: goethean

goethean — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:34:37 -0800

I'd like to make a joke, but I can't find any funny angle around this topic. So apparently both houses of the legislature of Missouri are three-quarters misogynists. It looks like the people of Missouri need to see what happens when they vote aggressively ignorant nut-bags into office in overwhelming numbers. It is possible that people will have to die due to a lack of health care before public opinion turns against these sanctimonious hypocrites who vote to impose their Wahhabist religious views on the population. See also: Kansas

By: Steely-eyed Missile Man

Steely-eyed Missile Man — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:49:27 -0800

Youth really need to get out the vote. The hippies are dying. The biggest hippie I ever knew voted for Romney. He claimed that Obamacare would "roll back years of progress" if it wasn't repealed. Youth really need to get out the vote. The hippies are ~~dying~~ going senile.

By: goethean

goethean — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:59:48 -0800

Guns on demand, but health services — WE WON'T STAND FOR IT This is governance by four year olds.

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:22:12 -0800

Women of Missouri, if you can't leave, then please read this. Otherwise, Colorado seems like the most sane state out there right now.

By: Mary Ellen Carter

Mary Ellen Carter — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:23:33 -0800

handmaidstate A sadly suitable tag.

By: Dip Flash

Dip Flash — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:30:29 -0800

Youth really need to get out the vote. The hippies are dying. The hippie generation (aka boomers) are the ones pushing for these repressive measures (of course with support from other demographic cohorts, and of course mostly not the ex-hippies themselves). Nor, I suspect, was the hippie vote ever a major factor in Missouri elections. This is terrible news -- right now I'm just hoping the veto override fails or it is thrown out in court. The anti-choice strategy of picking away at rights incrementally, mostly at the state level, is being unfortunately successful and I really worry about it.

By: fireoyster

fireoyster — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:30:38 -0800

five fresh fish: "Youth need to vote, to be political." My cohort (late 20s, early 30s) almost universally tells me that there is nothing in it for them. "Nobody cares about the people anymore," "all voting gets me is shills for both parties who won't do anything about the issues I care about," "what difference does it make, I'll just be taxed to death with nothing to show for it." That's not to say that there aren't people in my age group who do care. Case in point: various rallies for an April special election to try to fund King County (WA) Metro had a large contingency of those folks. The problem is that we're outnumbered by youth who don't care and voters of all ages who vote to "got mine." As someone who is a hobbyist in politics, I don't know what to do to change this perception.

By: emjaybee

emjaybee — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:58:12 -0800

One thing I do to deal with nihilism, fireoyster, is this. If you do nothing then there is a 0% chance you will make a difference. If you do something, there is a slightly more than 0% chance you will make a difference. This may not sway statisticians, but you only have to look at the lottery to see how even a slight dim hope of success can sometimes motivate people; especially contrasted with absolutely no hope whatsoever. This is the only world we get. It may already be doomed, but as long as there's any possibility of pulling our asses out of the fire, it makes sense to keep trying. The alternative is just laying down and letting the boot stomp our faces.

By: Mrs. Pterodactyl

Mrs. Pterodactyl — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:05:58 -0800

My cohort (late 20s, early 30s) almost universally tells me that there is nothing in it for them. "Nobody cares about the people anymore," "all voting gets me is shills for both parties who won't do anything about the issues I care about," "what difference does it make, I'll just be taxed to death with nothing to show for it." I'm thirty and I've realized that if I'm not going to vote I might as well "throw my vote away" and vote for the option that's best for me. I did vote for Obama last time but I really regret not voting for Jill Stein. Even if it's just a form of protest or your way of saying "I do care. Don't count me as someone who doesn't care. Count me as someone about whom YOU don't care.", if you've already decided you're not going to be represented by casting your vote, you might as well vote in a way that voices your concerns.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:14:48 -0800

On the bus to Jeff city now. I'm new at this protest stuff and was feeling pretty pessimistic and anxious about it but hopefully my fellow bus riders and I have a slightly more than 0% chance of making a difference, thanks emjaybee :)

By: goethean

goethean — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:24:09 -0800

By: benito.strauss

benito.strauss — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:25:55 -0800

> "all voting gets me is shills for both parties who won't do anything about the issues I care about," You vote for people who will do less bad stuff (e.g. won't try to privatize Social Security), and are less likely to get in the way of people trying to do good stuff (e.g. same sex marriage). It takes a few decades to come to this realization, and the eager fucktards are very passionate and very busy.

By: likeatoaster

likeatoaster — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:47:45 -0800

Between this and all of the death penalty business, it is a terrible day for Missouri and Missourians.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:58:07 -0800

I've been calling it a fixer upper state

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:02:49 -0800

I've resigned myself at this point to realizing the only way we'll ever truly be able to stop right-wing conservatives from enjoying the fruits of controlling women like this is to find ways to actually make them financially liable for it. I know it's not the best idea in that it again, places impetus on the woman to do the work here, but you know what would end this shit in a week? A real-life equivalent of that Dave Chappelle "love contract" sketch. Just a contract the guy has to sign agreeing, in writing, that if sex leads to pregnancy, he agrees to either pay every cost required for the draconian abortion requirements in their state- in Missouri's, that looks like a full week of hotel fees now- or, in contrast, immediately agreement right now to 18 years of child support. And yes, I'm saying whip that out right before coitus. After all, like they say to those dirty sluts all the time, the guy can just choose right then to not have sex, right? It sounds ridiculous, but business contracts appear to be the only thing conservatives actually respect, and financial responsibility the only thing they seem to fear.

By: feckless fecal fear mongering

feckless fecal fear mongering — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:05:04 -0800

I can't find the link, where's that guide to getting misoprestol?

By: fireoyster

fireoyster — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:08:51 -0800

XQUZYPHYR: "It sounds ridiculous, but business contracts appear to be the only thing conservatives actually respect" Who needs a signed contract? How good is the resolution on a temporary tattoo? "By conducting vaginal intercourse with this woman, said participant hereby agrees to binding arbitration in the Territory of Guam with all fees and expenses for such arbitration paid by said participant, and, at this woman's option, shall be liable for and agrees to pay all costs associated with the proposed, consummated, or attempted act."

By: bowtiesarecool

bowtiesarecool — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:22:40 -0800

fireoyster, I hear that a lot too from my age cohort, and it grinds my gears in a way that has left me spitting mad and unable to adequately respond. But having given it a fair amount of thought, particularly on reproductive rights issues, I really think the solution comes down to this: if you don't think your vote is worth anything, and you're not happy with the status quo, get the fuck more involved. Yes, a lot about federal and state politics is just money talking. But you know what? The people who show up are the only ones who get heard. Change happens incrementally, and locally, when people show up and make noise and make their governing bodies look more like the people they represent. Since we're specifically talking about reproductive rights here, which (rightly or wrongly) usually is painted as a "women's issue," let's consider this: the Missouri legislature is 21.8% female. That means that 78.2% of the people making this decision to override the veto cannot be physically impacted by the ramifications of their override. Missouri falls just a little bit below the national average of state legislatures in terms of percentage of women legislators. Women are a narrow majority of the human population. This unbalance is normal in this country. And that's why I get upset when people opt out of the civic process entirely, because the only way we can change those absurd percentages and the standard of governments that look nothing like the people they serve is by getting in there and mucking around ourselves. There are some organizations doing amazing work to change the course of the political pipeline - Running Start and She Should Run are two I can think of that are doing good work providing real training and support to women running for office or considering running for office, but there are more out there. It's a slow and discouraging process and it really sucks to fight against a stacked deck when the monetary odds are getting more and more uneven by the day, but if people don't join citizen commissions and write their officials and run for school board and make noise and, yes, exercise their hard-won right to vote, if we throw our hands up and opt out entirely, then we deserve whatever we get. /civics derail (Seriously, sorry about that. I hope the protesters get SO MUCH airtime, if nothing else.)

By: Foosnark

Foosnark — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:27:41 -0800

I'm ready to vote on St. Louis seceding from Missouri now. One state, two state, red state, blue state.

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:19:29 -0800

Between this and all of the death penalty business, it is a terrible day for Missouri and Missourians. Let's not forget Ferguson is still an ongoing black eye to the state's PR.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:22:16 -0800

Convincing young people that their vote means nothing is one way conservatives stay in power. "Both sides are the same," that tired old false equivalency, is trotted out in part for the very purpose of keeping one side in power. You know who feels like their vote has meaning? Conservative zealots who hate women, gays and minorities. They clearly believe the two sides are different (true 'Mericans vs the forces of evil) and vote accordingly. FOX news clearly sees wide differences but whenever Republican malfeasance is exposed you can be sure the first thing they'll point out is both sides do it. It demoralize the soft middle and left and keeps them away from the polls. I assure you, if they believed that was true they wouldn't keep propping up one side over the other. As long as we have our current stupid system of voting where the winner takes it all, not voting in most places in US is a win for the far right. To whit, by not voting you vote "yes" to "suppress women" with your silence.

By: ndfine

ndfine — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:47:32 -0800

"Nobody cares about the people anymore," "all voting gets me is shills for both parties who won't do anything about the issues I care about," "what difference does it make, I'll just be taxed to death with nothing to show for it." I understand how and why this sentiment happens, but I have to stop myself from screaming at people when they tell me things like that. It's almost always (relatively) liberal minded white people who have clearly never read a history book or met an African American person in their life. Too many people died due to terrorist attacks because African Americans wanted the vote, and it wasn't that long ago.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 10:09:26 -0800

This is terrible news -- right now I'm just hoping the veto override fails or it is thrown out in court. It's a shame it will come down to the politics of one or two specific judges, because this (in my legally completely unqualified opinion) really doesn't stand the legitimate governmental interest test. Rather than changing or preventing a behavior, the law's intent is purely to impose a burden, and furthermore it is a burden which is unequally felt by persons of different socioeconomic classes. There's no sound way to uphold it -- perversely, an outright abortion ban would be far more legally defensible -- so the question is, what kind of judges will it get?

By: marienbad

marienbad — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 10:10:06 -0800

Incest is so common in Utah they had to make an exception in a Bill? Stay Classy, America.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 10:24:07 -0800

Er, not really. "Rape and Incest" is a common exclusion for abortion restrictions. Assuming it includes statutory rape, among other things it affords some basis for exception on the grounds of non-consent.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:46:27 -0800

So the house seems to be a lost cause but we are (very) cautiously optimistic about the senate. On the way back now so unfortunately can't be there when the action happens, but I'm quite pumped up on politics now, hoping to stay involved!

By: cirhosis

cirhosis — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:49:19 -0800

let's consider this: the Missouri legislature is 21.8% female Number of Republicans in the Missouri House + Senate: 133 Number of Democrats in the Missouri House + Senate: 62 Number of Republican women in the Missouri House + Senate: 19 Number of Democratic women in the Missouri House + Senate: 24 % of Republican are women: 14.3% % of Democratic are women: 38.7% Seems like the best/quickest way to get more Women in the legislature is to elect more Democrats...

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 13:18:42 -0800

Wow so I was just told that the vote may or may not happen today. there is one senator who is going out of town tomorrow morning and without him the senate won't have enough votes to override the veto. But if the vote is today there is one senator who is still undecided. Agonizing.

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 14:09:49 -0800

Do they know which senator it is who's still undecided?

By: poffin boffin

poffin boffin — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:21:30 -0800

greg you cannot go find them and threaten to throw angry cats that is illegal

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:15:49 -0800

1) i don't know 2) Rep Mike Colona is on the house livestream right now and he is GIVING EM HELL it is amazing

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 19:25:01 -0800

House overrode, 117-44. switching to senate livestream

By: poffin boffin

poffin boffin — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 19:37:25 -0800

what the fuck missouri

By: Pudhoho

Pudhoho — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 19:42:40 -0800

I listened to 10 minutes or so of the house debate before I exceeded my target heart rate and had to shut it off. It's the senate floor right now.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 19:49:01 -0800

There were some beauteous moments in the livestream amidst all the misguided crap. One of them: Rep. Schatz: "This is murder." Rep. Dunn: "So where's your bill to abolish the death penalty?" Rep Schatz: "Uh, I haven't filed that yet. Maybe next year." Reps. Dunn and Colona are super rad.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 19:53:53 -0800

Senate is much more reserved in their discussion, a nice change from the shouty emotional blind spots in the house. They're discussing actual implications and how the 72-hour waiting period is very likely to push women to require the more dangerous surgical procedure as opposed to the pill.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:54:56 -0800

Sen. Holsman: "You know what's great?" Sen. i'mnotsureguy: "What?" Sen. Holsman: "The Royals won tonight! That's 80 games in a row! That's pretty good!" IIIIIITTTTTTSSSSS FILIBUSTER TIME

By: Pudhoho

Pudhoho — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:38:00 -0800

Definitely better discussion in the senate - but the chuds passed it anyways.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:39:14 -0800

and the veto has been overridden by the senate. after a lengthy filibuster and previous question motion by republican senators.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:44:11 -0800

Jolie Justus is the Wendy Davis of Missouri. Valiant filibuster effort by Sen. Justus and Sens. Sifton, Holsman, and Levota.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:53:09 -0800

. for my rights

By: riverlife

riverlife — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:53:11 -0800

Thank you ghostbikes for your efforts here.

By: Pudhoho

Pudhoho — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 23:35:37 -0800

Yup, and "better discussion" was an incredibly weak description of what transpired. Spectacular is more apt. It was incredible. Thank you for posting the link to the live feed, Ghostbikes - that was amazing. I'm glad I had to opportunity to witness it. And yeah .

By: jferg

jferg — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 06:11:00 -0800

Jolie Justus is a flipping Kansas City jewel. She's one of the things that makes me proudest of KC, despite not living in her district.

By: roomthreeseventeen

roomthreeseventeen — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 07:32:54 -0800

Very disappointed in the Senate vote. Those poor women.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 07:40:15 -0800

But only the poor women. The wealthy ones, like Senator's wives and daughters, will never notice the change.

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 10:37:55 -0800

House votes final tally Senate votes final tally The senate vote is so overwhelmingly pro-override that I can only assume I was given false info earlier for the purpose of group morale (even though it was from a trustworthy source). i doubt there was any chance of a sustain passing the vote. sorry for posting that. and I'm sorry to keep posting here constantly, can more lefty activist types move to MO please?

By: jferg

jferg — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:01:26 -0800

Any idea why Senator Chappelle-Nadal was marked absent with leave, when she had clearly been speaking at the veto session earlier in the evening?

By: ghostbikes

ghostbikes — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:14:20 -0800

my guess would be because the actual PQ was called at ~11:00pm. And I guess a PQ seemed super unlikely since it's pretty rare (I saw on twitter that last time it was called in the MO senate was 2007). Senators Sifton and Holsman were audibly SO PISSED after it happened, considering it a big breach of senate decorum, and spent a half hour after raging about it. it was great. (This twitter feed is a great timeline of how it went down.) although given the context the post-vote rage couldn't help but sound a little butthurt :-/ Then they cut off at 12:00ish to do a 9/11 moment of silence.

By: jferg

jferg — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:49:33 -0800

Makes sense; it just surprised me since she is one of the few liberal women in the Senate. Not that her vote would have made a difference. :-(

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 10:35:36 -0800

Jessica Valenti: If you think men should help decide if a woman gets an abortion, just shut up