Personhood Amendment Advances in Mo. House

(AP) – A Missouri measure backers say will protect the unborn and opponents say would ban abortion in the state received initial approval Tuesday in the House.

House members voted 112-36 Tuesday for the proposal , which still needs a second vote to move to the Senate. The deadline to pass legislation is May 13 – the time restraints that could make it a challenge to approve the measure.

If approved by the Legislature, the proposal by Ash Grove Republican Rep. Mike Moon would ask voters to decide whether to add “unborn human children at every stage of biological development” to a state constitutional provision that protects people’s “right to life.”

“We’re killing kids so fast it is insane,” said Rep. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, during Tuesday debate. “The epidemic of abortion is so out of control. It is time we do something to put a stop to it.”

Democratic opponents in the House said if enshrined in the Missouri Constitution, the measure would ban abortion, including in cases of rape, incest and in which the life of the mother is at risk.