Reproductive rights supporters in Missouri have vowed to fight a proposed law that would force women seeking an abortion to obtain the father’s permission in writing before a physician can perform the procedure.  A bill introduced this month by state representative Rick Brattin would add to what are already some of the most austere abortion restrictions in the US. Missouri enacted a 72-hour waiting period for abortions in October, and Brattin’s bill would further require women to receive the written and notarized consent of a fetus’ father before obtaining an abortion. The only exceptions, he says, would be rape and incest.  “Just like any rape, you have to report it, and you have to prove it,” the bill’s creator told Mother Jones. “So you couldn’t just go and say, ‘Oh yeah, I was raped’ and get an abortion. It has to be a legitimate rape.”  Brattin also told Mother Jones that he distinguishes the term “legitimate rape” from the way former US representative Todd Akin famously used the words in 2012 – to describe his false perception of the way women’s reproductive systems work, ie, that women’s bodies can “shut that whole thing down” following a rape. The comments effectively ended Akin’s political career.  Brattin’s comments have incensed reproductive rights supporters in the state, including Paula Gianino, president and CEO of the St Louis Planned Parenthood until January. The clinic’s Reproductive Health Services affiliate is the only abortion provider in the state.  “For representative Brattin to talk about legitimate rape once again, it is a slap in the face to women because it implies that women don’t tell the truth about these horrendous acts of violence,” Gianino told the Guardian. “I think he should be sanctioned by his party and the legislature in total for making these statements.”  Planned Parenthood has sent emails to supporters asking them to flood Brattin’s phones, email and mailboxes with comments against the bill. “This is a legislator who needs some education, and he needs to hear from the public how outrageous his comments are,” Gianino said.  The state legislature is between sessions, and the bill is not currently scheduled for a vote.  Gianino also criticized Brattin’s comments that his inspiration to create the bill came from a nonexistent state law that requires men to seek consent from their spouses before obtaining vasectomies.  “It’s based on, frankly, stupidity,” said Gianino. “This is an elected official who doesn’t even know what the law is in the state of Missouri around vasectomies. How dare he – he has a responsibility to know.”  Currently, to obtain an abortion in Missouri a woman must receive in-person, state-determined counseling and then wait 72 hours before she can undergo the procedure – even in cases of rape or incest. If the woman is a minor, she must receive parental consent before obtaining the procedure.  Along with fighting these restrictions, Planned Parenthood in Missouri’s primary concern is expanding reproductive and preventive health services for women in the state.
Proposed law would require fetus’ father to sign off on procedure and follows state’s passage in October of 72-hour waiting period for abortions