by Shavon Perkins
of The Current staff

By a vote of 127-34 the Missouri House of Representatives voted on Sept. 15 to override Governor Mel Carnahan's veto on the partial-birth abortion ban. The bill was debated on the Senate floor needing a 2/3 majority to make partial-birth abortions illegal in the state of Missouri. The Senate overrode the governor's veto with 27 votes.

The bill was first passed in May and vetoed by Carnahan in July. Ellie Dillon, president of the East Region of Missouri Right to Life said, "If it was right in May, then it's still right in September." Dillon went on to say,"The legislators heard all of the medical and legal facts and made an informed and correct decision."

Jeannette Sanchez-Wallace, a senior at U.M. St. Louis does not agree. Wallace is president of U.M. St. Louis' chapter of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Wallace said, "Even if it passes now, this bill will still fail in court because it is unconstitutional. We will continue to support people who are pro-choice. We will go on doing the same thing, but it is the doctors who will hesitate if this gets tied up in court."

To inform students on campus in preparation for the vote, the foundation staffed a booth at UMÐSt. Louis' Expo event and invited representatives from the National Organization of Women, and the National Abortion Rights Action League to attend. The foundation has also had guest speakers from Planned Parenthood at recent meetings. They have had an ongoing writing campaign to state and national legislators to express their concerns.

"We are concerned with a clause that could legalize violence against women and doctors," Wallace said. "Because of the vague nature of the bill, it could possibly outlaw some of the safest and most common abortions used in early pregnancies. Whether it's right or wrong, legal or not, women will still have abortions. If they are desperate, the politics are not going to affect the women who have to deal with the reality of an unwanted pregnancy."

Dillon said "The bill does not outlaw legal abortions. That is just a smoke screen. This bill outlaws infanticide, meaning that the baby is delivered and then killed. Women who feel that they need an abortion for medical reasons or not can still get a legal abortion. We have to remember that pro-choicers have a multi-million dollar industry to protect. We are just trying to protect human life."

In response to the concern that the bill will be tied up in court if passed by the Senate, Dillon said,"We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit and was awarded a temporary injunction stopping the law from being enforced.