Missouri Gov. Mike Parson arrives for a news conference Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in his Capitol office in Jefferson City, Missouri. Parson said he wants an up-or-down vote in the Senate on legislation that authorizes up to $50 million of tax credits for General Motors, gives state officials the option of granting upfront incentives to other businesses and creates a new college scholarship for adults. Some Republican senators have blocked the chamber's work in opposition to the bill. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
May 14, 2019 - 9:21 PM
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri senators are set to take up one of the nation's most restrictive proposed abortion bans.
The Republican-led Senate is expected to consider legislation to ban most abortions after eight weeks pregnancy before lawmakers' Friday deadline to pass bills.
The only exception would be in cases of medical emergencies, not rape or incest.
If approved, Missouri would join four other states that have passed bans on abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy.
The Missouri bill comes as abortion opponents across the U.S. push for new restrictions in hopes that the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court will overturn its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion.
The Missouri measure also includes a near-total ban on abortion, but that would only kick in if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
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News from © The Associated Press, 2019