JUST IN: Missouri AG Eric Schmitt Signs Proclamation to End Abortion in State

After the Supreme Court’s landmark opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed a proclamation banning abortion in the state.

AG Eric Schmitt also released a statement on Twitter following the historic ruling.

WATCH:

THREAD: Today is a historic day, but we also remember over 60 million innocent lives lost. There was a lot of work behind the scenes before we achieved this incredible victory. Here are some of our efforts to protect all, including the unborn. pic.twitter.com/rI8GTLgr5r

— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022

In April of 2021, Missouri joined a 20-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in the 8th Circuit defending Arkansas’ ban on gruesome and heinous live-dismemberment abortions.https://t.co/eHnEeZr3fl pic.twitter.com/2I16RSD5Ek

— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022

In 2019, The provision of HB126 that prohibited abortions based solely on a Down syndrome diagnosis. MO appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and that appeal was denied. However, in a rare move, the Court granted an en banc review.

— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022

In November 2021, Missouri joined a 17-state coalition in filing an amicus brief to defend Arizona’s law prohibiting abortion because of genetic abnormalities before the Ninth Circuit. Many parents can feel pressured to abort because of diagnostic test results.

— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022

Since taking office, I have always fought to protect the unborn. Because of our action today, millions of lives will be protected moving forward.

— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) June 24, 2022

Justice Alito wrote the opinion and stated Roe was “egregiously wrong” and “on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.”

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

“Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

FOX2Now reported:

Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed proclamations Friday banning abortion in the state following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade at about 9 a.m.

Missouri has a “trigger law,” meaning abortion would be abolished with a proclamation from the governor or AG following Roe v. Wade overturning.

Missouri is the first in the country to end abortion. Schmitt signed a proclamation at about 9:15 a.m. Shortly after, Governor Mike Parson also signed a proclamation that activates the “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act.”

“With Roe v. Wade overturned and statutory triggers provided in HB 126, we are issuing this proclamation to restore our state authority to regulate abortion and protect life. 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. Today, our efforts have produced what generations of Missourians have worked and prayed for: Today, we have won our fight to protect innocent life,” Parson said.

The proclamation Parson signed prohibits doctors from performing abortions unless there is a medical emergency and makes it a crime for any person who knowingly performs or induces a non-medical emergency abortion and subjects his or her professional license to suspension. It protects women who receive an illegal abortion from being prosecuted in violation of the act.

The proclamation was signed Friday morning because of House Bill 126 passed back in 2019. The “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act” was included in the bill and was contingent upon the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade in whole or in part.

Republican lawmakers in the Show-Me State see this as a win. The law passed back in 2019 would ban abortions after eight weeks, not allowing any exemptions for rape or incest survivors. It also includes a provision prohibiting a mother from getting an abortion if she receives a prenatal Down Syndrome diagnosis. Since being blocked by a federal judge, it’s been an ongoing legal fight.