Sparks’ legislation ran into fierce resistance from Democrats during the hearing in the Missouri House General Laws Committee Tuesday evening.

Rep. Keri Ingle, a Lee’s Summit Democrat, criticized the line which barred lawmakers from adding exceptions for rape and incest through state law unless approved by voters through a statewide vote. She pointed to the fact that Missouri Republicans have for years pushed legislation to make it harder for Missourians to amend the state constitution.

“Why do you put in here that only through a vote of the people can abortion exceptions be added and you say in the same breath that you want to make it more difficult for the constitution to be amended?” Ingle asked Sparks.

Rep. Emily Weber, a Kansas City Democrat, excoriated the legislation, arguing that it was an example of Missouri Republicans attempting to regulate women’s bodies.

“My body, my choice,” Weber told Sparks. “As a woman, you are trying to really regulate what my body can and cannot do.”

Sam Lee, a longtime anti-abortion lobbyist in Jefferson City, testified in favor of the measure, saying that he’s been approached by members of his Catholic church who want an opportunity to vote on a “pro-life amendment.”

“I hope I can tell them by the time this General Assembly ends in May, that they will have a chance in November to vote on a pro-life amendment to the constitution just as it’s possible that they’ll be voting on a pro-abortion amendment to the constitution,” Lee told the committee.

“The voters will truly get a choice and we’ll get to decide what should be in our constitution.”

Missouri became the first state to ban nearly all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. A 2019 state law that went into effect after the court decision bans abortion in nearly all circumstances and does not include exceptions for rape and incest.

Under the law — and Sparks’ proposed constitutional amendment — doctors who help perform the procedure are at risk of felony charges and losing their medical licenses. The proposed amendment states that a woman “upon whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subsection shall not be prosecuted for a conspiracy to violate the provisions of this subsection.”

But Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat, on Tuesday raised questions about whether that language would allow for criminal penalties against women who use medicine that induces an abortion.

“What about being an accessory to the crime? What about being guilty of the crime itself?” Merideth asked. “Aren’t you subjecting the woman to the same charge?”

“If she’s performing it on herself, it’s possible,” Sparks responded.

The ban has sown confusion and fear among women and medical providers across the state and sparked fury from abortion rights supporters.

Polling released this month showed that a plurality of 44% of Missourians supported the effort to overturn the abortion ban while 37% were not in favor. The remaining 19% said they were not sure, a percentage of voters that abortion rights supporters will have to tap into.

The proposed constitutional amendment, if it were to reach the ballot, would require support from more than 50% of votes cast to pass.

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