Midwest Voices

Barb Shelly

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For the second straight year, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has allowed a bill limiting access to abortion to become law by taking no action on it.

This latest one makes Missouri the fifth state (Kansas being another) to ban abortions on viable fetuses except to save the woman’s life or prevent permanent harm to a major bodily function. Up until now, Missouri law provided for a more general health exemption.

Abortion rights groups will accuse Nixon of coping out, and this move will add to complaints that the Democratic governor isn’t willing to stand on principle.

But Nixon is nothing if not pragmatic. He knows the bill limiting abortions passed the House and Senate with more than enough votes to overturn a veto. Why turn a veto session into a prolonged debate on abortion, when you have no chance of winning? An override debate would inevitably draw crowds of anti-abortion activists to Jefferson City, bringing with them a conservative fervor that could spill over into other issues.

Only a tiny fraction of the abortions in Missouri are on fetuses old enough to be viable. The number of pregnancies affected by this law is very, very small. As a rollback of rights, it’s more symbolic than actual.

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