Missouri Republican Sen. Bob Onder, who lives in a state with just one abortion clinic, is mad.
He’s mad about many things.
First, he’s very mad that Missouri Democrats spoke for hours against his latest anti-abortion bill, which included new (medically unnecessary) regulations for clinics as well as a provision to make it a Class C felony to donate fetal tissue or organs or to “induce” someone to get pregnant and have an abortion for the purpose of procuring and donating said tissue. Because that’s what women do.
He’s also very mad about the fact that the city of St. Louis enacted a law prohibiting employers and landlords from discriminating against women who have had abortions. How is that even fair? You’re taking away a religious business owner’s right to treat women as second class citizens, and then what will they do for fun?
He’s also very mad about a proposed ballot initiative for a teeny-tiny raise in sales tax in the greater St. Louis area in order to raise money for the St. Louis Zoo.
Legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, would allow the city and four counties — St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin and St. Louis — to approve ballot initiatives for a sales tax of one-eighth cent or less. The money generated would support the zoo’s animal conservation and infrastructure needs, as well as programs to breed and conserve endangered species.
Don’t worry, though. Onder has a solution to this very very serious concern: Changing the name of the St. Louis Zoo.
If Democrats want to allow citizens to vote to raise the sales tax to support the zoo, and they oppose his bill burdening women who have abortions, surely they’ll be okay with renaming the tourist attraction the Midwest Abortion Sanctuary City Zoo… in reference to GOP Gov. Eric Greitens having called St. Louis an “abortion sanctuary city.” (Because we wouldn’t want women to feel safe having an abortion in St. Louis, would we?)
Despite criticism from the zoo association and his colleagues in the legislature, Onder claims there’s little difference between him trying to stop a ballot initiative to support the zoo and Democrats trying to stop his anti-abortion bill. Might as well link them together, right?
It’s the legislative equivalent of saying, “If you love abortion so much, why don’t you marry it?”
Clearly, he thinks this is very clever. What’s actually sad, though, is that the reason they are referring to St. Louis as an “abortion sanctuary city” in the first place is because it is home to the state’s only abortion clinic. This means that many patients drive over 100 miles to obtain the procedure. As if that doesn’t make things hard enough, the state requires a 72-hour waiting period, which requires anyone who wants an abortion to visit the clinic, go through “counseling” meant to deter them from having an abortion, and then wait for three days before actually being allowed to have it. This can mean taking at least two days off of work, particularly for those that have to travel long distances.
Hell, they should go ahead with the name change. It’ll serve as an unintentional reminder to the rest of the country as to how Missouri Republicans are making it dangerous for women to obtain comprehensive medical care.
(Screenshot via YouTube)
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