Missouri State GOP Introduces Horrendous Anti-Choice Bill
A month after threatening to imprison a Planned Parenthood official for not handing over a list of women who’ve gotten abortions, Missouri Republicans are at it again. The majority of the Missouri state house voted for a bill that would define fertilized eggs as “persons” that “have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry.”
The bill and the debate around it is a veritable smorgasbord of right-wing nuttiness, starting with the apparent belief that zygotes are industrious workers who can feel happiness and own things. As a reminder, this is what a zygote looks like. It doesn’t have brains or skin or eyes or much in the way of neurons, but in anti-choice eyes, it’s a kindergartener playing catch and scribbling away in coloring books.
With the opening premise being so ridiculous, it’s little wonder that things spiraled quickly out of control with this bill. Despite the fact that talking about rape never works out well for anti-choicers, state representative Tila Hubrecht was eager to argue that rape victims who get pregnant should be grateful that such a wonderful blessing has come their way.