JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Right to Life, one of the most influential political organizations in the state, considers the most recent legislative session to be a sweeping success, according to Executive Director Patty Skain.
“We’re very pleased with this session,” Skain told The Missouri Times. “We got some protective language on budget items, we had a lot of good pro-life legislation, this is one of the most pro-life sessions we’ve had in years.”
Skain said the most important thing to remember, though, was that pro-life issues were no longer strictly about abortion’s taking place in a clinic. The rise of certain pharmaceutical and biotechnology issues has created several new areas of concern for the pro-life movement, Skain said.
“When you think about things like the Plan B pill or embryonic stem cell research or human cloning, you’re talking about issues that absolutely deal with life, but that weren’t on the horizon 10 or 20 or 30 years ago,” Skain said.
Skain said MOSIRA, the availability of over-the-counter “Plan B,” pills and new research dealing with embryonic stem cells and human cloning have added new layers to the pro-life movement and have added new complexities to the issue.
“There are people out there who ask me why we don’t overturn Roe v. Wade,” Skain said. “And I tell them two things. First, the courts won’t allow for that yet and second, I don’t know that it makes a big difference in terms of life.”
Skain said traditional abortions could be outlawed, but the new definitions of pregnancy adopted by many medical professionals could allow “chemical abortions,” to continue unchecked.
“We aren’t concerned about a true contraceptive,” Skain said. “Because a true contraceptive stops conception. But in the cases of say an IUD, that doesn’t prevent the sperm from reaching the egg, it just prevents attachment to the uterine wall, and that’s not the same thing. That woman is still pregnant whether we define it that way or not.”
And as newer issues dealing with life move through the legislative process, Missouri Right to Life continues to track voting records to determine members on both sides of the aisle worthy of their endorsement. Skain said the organization is non-partisan, and any member who supports life will end up having the support of Missouri Right to Life.
The organization says although party platforms reflect different stances on abortion, its only concern is whether the individual legislators have a pro-life record.
“Our concern is protecting innocent human life,” Skain said. “To that end we do whatever is possible to influence the policy and the public discourse in that way.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.