A Republican lawmaker and father of five, Rick Brattin, has raised some fellow Missouri eyebrows with a proposal that would force pregnant women to obtain a signed consent from the fathers of their babies before getting abortions.
His bill makes exceptions for victims of rape, so long as the woman reported the rape to law enforcement, the Daily Mail reported.
“Just like any rape, you have to report it and you have to prove it,” Mr. Brattin said to Mother Jones. “So you couldn’t just go and say, ’Oh yeah, I was raped,’ and get an abortion. It has to be a legitimate rape.”
Mr. Brattin said he stumbled on the idea for the bill when he went to the doctor’s office for a vasectomy but was told he had to prove permission, in writing, from his wife, the Daily Mail reported.
His proposed law, filed Dec. 3, states: “No abortion shall be performed or induced unless and until the father of the unborn child provides written, notarized consent to the abortion, except in cases in which the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced was the victim of rape or incest and the pregnancy resulted form the rape or incest. If the father of the unborn child is deceased, the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced shall sign a notarized affidavit attesting to the fact,” the Daily Mail reported.
Mr. Brattin said he simply wants to uphold the rights of the father, and prevent women from using abortion as a means of birth control.
“If you have a father that wants to be a part of that child’s life,” he said, the Daily Mail reported, “he should have that right.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2878629/Republican-politician-says-abortions-allowed-women-written-permission-father-except-cases-legitimate-rape.html
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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