Medicaid Ban Proposed for Women Who Have Abortions

A Missouri Republican has proposed an amendment seeking to ban women from Medicaid if they have ever had an abortion.

Missouri Senate Democrats shared the proposed amendment introduced by state Sen. Mike Moon on social media.

"Republicans in Missouri have drafted an amendment to ban women for life from accessing Medicaid if that woman has ever had an abortion," their account posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Some responded to the post by saying blocking women from being eligible for the government's health insurance program for the neediest Americans if they had received an abortion was "cruel."

"These women will be denied access to health care of any kind unless they can pay for it & obviously, they can't. This is terrifying & absolutely cruel," one person wrote.

Another wrote: "This has nothing to do with being 'pro-life.' Instead it is all about the cruelty of being pro-birth while not caring or supporting the children."

Another wrote that "in case there was any doubt at all—how, I don't know—that the GOP's primary agenda is to threaten and punish women."

Moon has also introduced legislation seeking to impose criminal penalties on women who seek abortions.

Newsweek has contacted Moon and Missouri Senate Democrats for comment via social media.

The amendment was introduced on Wednesday, the same day that Missouri's Republican-led Senate voted against amending the state's strict abortion law to allow exceptions in cases of rape and incest.

Missouri banned almost all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, with abortions currently only allowed in cases of medical emergency.

Democratic state Sen. Tracy McCreery had introduced two amendments that would add exemptions to Missouri's abortion ban for victims of rape and incest.

McCreery urged her colleagues to show "an ounce of compassion" to victims, according to the Missouri Independent.

"They've already survived enough trauma," she said. "They shouldn't have to go to another state to get compassionate medical care."

Republicans argued against the exceptions, with one state senator saying that "God does not make mistakes."

"God is perfect," said state Sen. Sandy Crawford. "God does not make mistakes. And for some reason he allows that to happen. Bad things happen."

Moon spent 12 minutes listing notable people who were conceived through rape or incest, the newspaper reported. He also suggested that rapists be castrated.

Another Republican argued that giving birth could help women recover from rape or incest.

"If you want to go after the rapist, let's give him the death penalty. Absolutely, let's do it," state Sen. Rick Brattin said. "But not the innocent person caught in-between that, by God's grace, may even be the greatest healing agent you need in which to recover from such an atrocity."

Also on Wednesday, Missouri Republicans were unable to push a bill seeking to make Planned Parenthood ineligible to receive Medicaid reimbursements to a vote.