Legal abortion came to an end in Missouri on Friday with the activation of the state's "trigger law," banning the procedure minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its federal constitutionality.
The high court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization allows states to impose their own laws on abortion, overturning the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade that established it as legal under the U.S. Constitution. A 2019 law passed by Missouri's Republican legislature says "no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency," taking effect after the Supreme Court "has overruled, in whole or in part, Roe v. Wade."
Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, signed an opinion Friday morning activating the trigger law.
"With this attorney general opinion, my Office has effectively ended abortion in Missouri, becoming the first state in the country to do so following the Court’s ruling," said Schmitt, who is also running for U.S. Senate, in a statement.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson also signed a proclamation Friday activating the trigger law, arguing that "nothing in the text, history or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion."
"Thanks to decades of conservative leaders, Missouri has become one of the most pro-life states in the nation, and our Administration has always fought for the life of every unborn child," Parson said in a statement. "Today, our efforts have produced what generations of Missourians have worked and prayed for: Today, we have won our fight to protect innocent life."
What does Missouri's 'trigger law' do?
Missouri's law makes knowingly performing or inducing an abortion a class B felony, punishable by five to 15 years in prison. It does not make exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest and does not allow for prosecutions of women who receive abortions.
Public polling in recent months has indicated that a majority of Americans opposed the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and state bans on abortion. A found that 61 percent of people believed abortion should be legal in many or all cases. Missourians, according to recent years' polling, are nearly evenly divided on the issue. A 2018 poll from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 49 percent of the state's residents polled believed abortion should be legal in many or all cases, while 45 percent said it should be illegal.