One Missouri Rep Wants Abortion To Require A Permission Slip From The Father
If you live in Missouri and happen to be a woman, you may one day require a permission slip if you want to get an abortion -- a permission slip from the "father of the unborn child."
Rick Brattin, a Republican state representative from Missouri, filed a bill early this month, according to Mother Jones, that reads, "No abortion shall be performed or induced unless and until the father of the unborn child provides written, notarized consent to the abortion."
Provisions would be made for women who are the victims of incest, those whose health is in peril, and victims of "legitimate rape."
"Legitimate rape," in Brattin's lexicon, refers to rape that has been reported to the police -- not former Missouri Congressman Todd Akin's claim that women don't get pregnant from rape because "the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down."
"I'm just saying if there was a legitimate rape, you're going to make a police report, just as if you were robbed," Brattin told Mother Jones. "That's just common sense."
A quick aside before we go further on the subject of permission slip abortions: 60% of rapes go unreported, according to RAINN. So, just let that sink in.
Moving on... Brattin said he was inspired to conceptualize the bill after his recent vasectomy. "When a man goes in for that procedure -- at least in the state of Missouri -- you have to have a consent form from your spouse in order to have that procedure done," he said. "Here I was getting a normal procedure that has nothing to do with another human being's life, and I needed to get a signed form.... But on ending a life, you don't. I think that's pretty twisted."
Mother Jones confirmed with Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri that there is no law in Missouri requiring men to get partners' consent before undertaking this procedure. Some healthcare providers, excluding Planned Parenthood, however, do require signed consent. MTV News also confirmed these facts with Planned Parenthood.
Still, Planned Parenthood does require would-be mothers to wait 72 hours after their first consultation and the ensuing abortion -- the result of a 2014 bill.
One factor that Brattin does not take into account in his new bill, however, is abuse. What happens if your partner is abusive and you no longer wish to be pregnant?
"I haven't really thought about that aspect of it," Brattin said. "What does that have to do with the child's life? Just because it was an abusive relationship, does that mean the child should die?"
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, call the 24-hour National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673), or visit Rainn.org.
