Missouri § 188.056 - Abortion prohibited after eight weeks gestational age, exception for medical emergency — violation, penalty — severability clause.

§ 188.056. Abortion prohibited after eight weeks gestational age, exception for medical emergency — violation, penalty — severability clause.

1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman at eight weeks gestational age or later, except in cases of medical emergency.  Any person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion of an unborn child in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a class B felony, as well as subject to suspension or revocation of his or her professional license by his or her professional licensing board.  A woman upon whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subsection shall not be prosecuted for a conspiracy to violate the provisions of this section.

2.  It shall be an affirmative defense for any person alleged to have violated the provisions of subsection 1 of this section that the person performed or induced an abortion because of a medical emergency.  The defendant shall have the burden of persuasion that the defense is more probably true than not.

3.  Prosecution under this section shall bar prosecution under section^* 188.057, 188.058, or 188.375 if prosecution under such sections would violate the provisions of Amendment V to the Constitution of the United States or Article I, Section 19 of the Constitution of Missouri.

4.  If any one or more provisions, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words of this section or the application thereof to any person, circumstance, or period of gestational age is found to be unenforceable, unconstitutional, or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the same is hereby declared to be severable and the balance of the section shall remain effective notwithstanding such unenforceability, unconstitutionality, or invalidity.  The general assembly hereby declares that it would have passed this section, and each provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more provisions, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words of the section, or the application of the section to any person, circumstance, or period of gestational age, would be declared unenforceable, unconstitutional, or invalid.

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(L. 2019 H.B. 126)

*Word "sections" appears in original rolls.

---- end of effective  28 Aug 2019 ----

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