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Take House Bill 126, which enacted several abortion bans when it was passed in 2019, including a “trigger ban” that prohibited all abortions and went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.
Lawmakers openly and repeatedly emphasized they were writing their religious beliefs into HB 126, even declaring in the bill itself that “Almighty God is the author of life” – a phrase that an opposing lawmaker noted was “in violation of the separation of church and state.”
Then-Rep. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-District 148; now a state Senator in District 27)
Rep. Barry Hovis (R-District 146)
Then-Rep. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-District 148; now a state Senator in District 27)
Bill Sponsor Then-Rep. Nick Schroer (R-District 107; now a state Senator in District 2)
When lawmakers enshrine their narrow set of religious beliefs about abortion into law, it subordinates the health and lives of women and all who can become pregnant, inhibiting their ability to participate equally in society.
Help AU Challenge Abortion Bans as Violations of Church-State Separation
Abortion bans violate the separation of church and state. Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center—the leading experts in religious freedom and gender justice—have joined forces with thirteen clergy from six faith traditions to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans as unconstitutionally imposing one narrow religious doctrine on everyone.