Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is seeking to strike down Missouri’s criminal penalties for abortion, adding to an already intense legal confrontation playing out in St. Louis that could result in a judge overturning the state’s near-total ban.
The Democratic prosecutor, whose jurisdiction includes much of Kansas City, last month filed a petition in St. Louis Circuit Court arguing the criminal penalties violate the Missouri Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection. Baker’s filing came in an ongoing lawsuit brought by progressive faith leaders challenging the abortion ban on religious freedom grounds.
The lawsuit, filed in January, is turning into a bitter fight over the role religion played in the crafting of Missouri’s ban and the meaning of the law’s sole exception – for medical emergencies – that critics say is far too vague and leaves doctors second-guessing when they can legally perform an abortion. It comes amid a nationwide wave of similar lawsuits deploying religious freedom arguments to challenge state-level bans.
