A proposed constitutional amendment reinstating Missouri’s abortion ban cleared a Senate committee Wednesday after a GOP lawmaker who opposes the inclusion of rape and incest exceptions asked to be removed from the panel to avoid sinking the bill’s chances. 

Sponsored by state Sen. Adam Schnelting, a Republican from St Charles, the proposed amendment would ban abortion but allow exceptions up to 12 weeks gestation for survivors of rape and incest who first reported the assault to police.

Last week, state Sen. Mike Moon, a Republican from Ash Grove, said he opposed any legislation that would leave the door open for abortions not medically necessary during an emergency. Specifically, he pointed to the rape and incest exceptions as unacceptable. 

The bill was assigned to the Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee, where Republicans hold four of the panel’s six seats. If Moon voted against the measure, it would die on a 3-3 tie.

Moon sent a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin on Tuesday requesting his removal from the committee, saying that while he understands the need to respond to the legalization of abortion last November, he “cannot support the creation of a subhuman group.”

“Republicans, and some Democrats, profess to be ‘protectors’ of life. I claim to be one of them,” he continued. “Because of this, I cannot support an effort which does not recognize all life as precious and worth saving and protecting.”

O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, granted Moon’s request. State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, replaced Moon on the committee and the bill was approved Wednesday morning on a party-line vote. 

It now heads to the full Senate for debate. 

Schnelting on Wednesday said while he agrees with Moon that those conceived in rape are “just as valuable as any other human being,” he believes a ban with an exception for survivors has the best chance of winning at the ballot box. 

“So my goal is to maximize human life as much as I possibly can, working pragmatically within that framework,” he said. 

Moon could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, but Schnelting said he believes his colleague stepped down from the committee of his own accord.

“(Moon) gave me his word that he wouldn’t kill the bill,” Schnelting said. “But at the same time he didn’t want to vote for something with exceptions.”

Moon has remained a staunch opponent of any abortion exceptions and has filed legislation to impose criminal penalties on women who end their pregnancies. Last year, he also opposed Democrats’ attempt to introduce rape and incest exceptions into what was then a near-total ban on the procedure. 

Another proposed constitutional amendment approved by the Senate committee on Wednesday was sponsored by Moon that would define a “person” as “every human being with a unique DNA code regardless of age, including every in utero human child at every stage of biological development from the moment of conception until birth.”

Legislation similar to Schnelting’s — filed in the House by GOP state Rep. Melanie Stinnett of Springfield — is still awaiting a vote in the House Children and Families committee. Both Schnelting and Stinnett’s bills would also ban gender-affirming health care for minors and allow abortions during an ectopic pregnancy.

Schnelting said he doesn’t know how Moon plans to vote once the bill reaches the Senate floor, but noted that the revised legislation that was passed out of committee Wednesday included a severability clause that was suggested by Moon.

The clause could allow the rape and incest exceptions in the amendment to be challenged in federal court as being discriminatory and in violation of the 14th Amendment. 

More: Missouri abortion clinics to begin operating again after judge’s ruling clears obstacles

During a press conference last week, Moon said he was open to any abortion bans going before voters. 

“There are some other measures that are out there, and I’m hoping that all of them can make it,” Moon said. “So the voters can decide on either one, two or all the ones that are put before them.”

While the GOP-led legislature continues to prioritize abortion access, Planned Parenthood started offering procedural abortions for the first in nearly three years after a judge struck down many of the state’s abortion regulations, citing them as discriminatory. 

If any of the proposed amendments banning abortion make it to the ballot and are approved by a simple majority of voters, the new law would be in direct conflict with an amendment narrowly approved in November that protects the right to reproductive health care, including abortion up to the point of fetal viability. 

The first elective abortion to take place in Missouri since 2022 happened in mid-February at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City. On Monday, four more abortions took place, this time at the clinic in Columbia, which hadn’t performed the procedure since 2018.

This story was first published at missouriindependent.com.