A Missouri lawmaker and fervent anti-abortion activist on Tuesday introduced a measure into the state House that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps another Missouri resident obtain an abortion out of state. Markedly similar to the so-called “vigilante” loophole in Texas’ controversial and crushingly restrictive six-week abortion ban, the provision was attached by state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman to several bills dealing with abortion awaiting debate on the House floor. While abortions haven’t been criminalized in Missouri—yet—only one legal abortion clinic remains in the state. A press officer for that clinic, a Planned Parenthood branch, called Coleman’s plan “wild” and “bonkers.” Advocates for abortion rights told The Washington Post that the proposal was unconstitutional, given that it grants Missouri the authority to police abortions outside its state lines. But Coleman argued to the Post: “If your neighboring state doesn’t have pro-life protections, it minimizes the ability to protect the unborn in your state.”
