Editorial Roundup: Missouri

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 23, 2023.

Editorial: Too many in Missouri think birth control is illegal. State leaders must fix that.

It is perhaps an understandable phenomenon, but a disturbing one, that large swaths of Missourians today wrongly believe standard birth control pills are illegal in Missouri, and a majority wrongly believe that so-called “morning after” pills have been banned.

It isn’t a case of wishful thinking. A strong majority (including more than 80% of Republicans in the state) believe birth control should be legal and available. But too many just don’t understand that it is.

That’s according to a recent survey that vividly demonstrates just how much Missouri’s extremist new abortion ban has impacted reproductive medical services and information for women. The state’s Republican leadership should take the lead in getting word out that birth control is legal in the state, and should consider ramping up state services that would make the pill more affordable and available.

Missouri was the first state to ban abortion services upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade a year ago, and it remains among the most extreme bans in the country. Almost all abortions are outlawed from the moment of conception, even in cases of rape or incest, with the sole exception being a vaguely defined “medical emergency.” Doctors who violate the ban can face up to 15 years in prison.

Not only is the law onerous, but the rhetoric around it from the more radical quarter of the state’s Republican legislative majority has led to understandable fears that they aren’t done.

Some lawmakers last year suggested that a Missouri ban should be enforced with tactics including censoring information available to Missouri women and blocking them from obtaining out-of-state abortions.

“There are some that I think are OK and some that I don’t believe in, especially the morning-after pill and things that come after conception,” state Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, said last year, as the Legislature pondered its post-Roe possibilities. “So I think anything’s on the table.”

Small problem: The morning-after pill isn’t something “after conception” — it is contraception. It prevents fertilization from happening after sex by delaying ovulation until the sperm is no longer viable. But public confusion about that fact is great enough that even a Kansas City-area health network last year briefly stopped offering morning-after pills for fear of violating the new ban.

It turns out, that misconception runs deep. As the Post-Dispatch’s Michele Munz reported last week, a survey of 1,000 Missourians by the independent research organization AYTM found that a quarter of Missourians didn’t know standard birth control pills are legal in the state, 53% didn’t know emergency contraception like the Plan B morning-after pill is legal, and 40% think intrauterine devices might not be legal.

Here’s the important point: Each of those birth control methods is perfectly legal in Missouri, since none of them affects a fertilized egg. The confusion tends to be especially problematic with the morning-after pill, which is often confused with the abortion-inducing drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

It’s important to note that, while much of the Missouri public thinks birth control is illegal, most don’t want it to be. The same survey found that 84% of respondents, including 82% of Republicans, support access to birth control, and 72%, including 75% of Republicans, think the state should help make it more affordable.

Where else in the debate over reproductive rights is there anything like that kind of consensus? It should convince Missouri Republicans that not only do they have a responsibility to continue countering the public misconception about the legality of birth control (and Gov. Mike Parson and others, to their credit, have). They should also consider that promoting birth control and making it easier to obtain is entirely in line with their anti-abortion philosophy. After all, preventing unwanted pregnancy by definition prevents abortion.

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Kansas City Star. June 20, 2023.

Editorial: Josh Hawley knows better about slavery and Juneteenth. But he just wants to fight

We’ve long since become accustomed to Sen. Josh Hawley’s online provocations. The Missouri Republican (or perhaps his staff) is a prolific poster, one who uses Twitter not to enlighten or inform his constituents but to start fights and stir up politically useful culture wars. For the most part, we prefer to ignore his endless trolling.

Once in a while, however, Hawley posts something so mean-spirited and wildly at odds with known facts that we are compelled to respond.

It happened again this week. Hawley on Monday acknowledged the national Juneteenth holiday — which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States — with yet another bit of incitement.

“Today is a good day to remember: Christianity is the faith and America is the place slavery came to die,” Hawley wrote on Twitter.

Wrong.

We love our country. But it is incorrect that slavery came to America to die. Spain, Great Britain and France all abolished slavery ahead of the United States — and those countries accomplished that task without a bloody Civil War fought by millions who killed and died in the cause of keeping Black people in bondage.

Instead, slavery flourished here for more than two centuries.

Enslaved labor formed the backbone of the Southern economy and did the same for America’s startling economic growth during its early years. Cotton picked by enslaved workers was the country’s No. 1 export, and was shipped for Europe from ports in New York. Textile mills, banks and insurance companies across the country grew fat on the business generated by the cotton industry, and plowed the proceeds into dozens of other ventures.

As a result, says Cornell University’s Edward E. Baptist, the period between American independence and the Civil War “is when you see the U.S. go from being a colonial, primarily agricultural economy to being the second biggest industrial power in the world — and well on its way to becoming the largest industrial power in the world.”

It is no exaggeration to say that America’s economic might was built on a foundation of enslaved labor.

Slavery did eventually die in the United States, though. That was no thanks to Southern secessionists who fought to preserve their dominance over Black people. More than 620,000 lives from both sides were lost as a result. The institution didn’t “die” because of American goodness. It was killed, belatedly, and with horrific violence.

Hawley, it must be noted, in 2020 opposed efforts to rename American military bases named after Confederate leaders.

Similarly, Hawley offers a too-simple tale of the role of faith in the end of slavery.

Yes, the abolitionist movement was powered by Quakers and other Christians who saw the rape, murder, family separation and enforced labor of slavery as incompatible with their faith. “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ,” Frederick Douglass wrote. “I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”

But enslavers also justified Black bondage using their religious faith. Both the North and South “read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other,” President Abraham Lincoln observed in his second inaugural address.

Hawley, who was an honors history major at Stanford University, surely knows all of this.

The senator wasn’t just factually wrong, though. He was offensive.

Juneteenth marks a day of redemption from all that terrible history. It celebrates a moment when America started (haltingly, slowly and still incompletely) to make good on the promise of liberty for all of its people, not just a privileged few. It’s a day that deserves to be observed with joy, but also a dose of humility.

The senator could have celebrated that accomplishment with millions of other Americans, including many of his own constituents. Instead, he had to make it about his thing — a chance to own the libs.

What a sad and ugly display of leadership. Josh Hawley knows better. Missourians deserve better. And Juneteenth deserves to be celebrated in its own right, not as provocation from a too-online politician.

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News Tribune. June 23, 2023.

Editorial: Drought should guide July 4 plans

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, maybe you shouldn’t light that fuse this year.

Cole County and the rest of Mid-Missouri are still in the throes of an extreme drought, and a big neighborhood fireworks display may not be the wisest way to celebrate our nation’s independence.

With the Fourth of July less than two weeks away, local and state departments are wisely expressing concern and preparing for celebrations that could end in tragedy.

“Public fireworks displays offer the best sights and are the safest, and this year the fire risk posed by fireworks has increased because of drought conditions in much of Missouri,” State Fire Marshal Tim Bean said in a news release. “The risk that sparks from fireworks could lead to grass and natural cover fires is elevated this year. These fires can spread rapidly and pose risks to structures as well. We urge everyone to consider local conditions and use extreme caution if they choose to use consumer fireworks.”

In general when burning outdoors, the Missouri Department of Conservation cautions not to burn in the wrong conditions. Those wrong conditions include dry grass and high temperatures, both of which Missouri is experiencing right now, paired with low humidity and wind.

For those who ignore those admonitions, the MDC release also notes: “A person who starts a fire for any reason is responsible for any damage it may cause.”

But if you’re planning to light fireworks, the MDC advised avoiding dry areas where sparks could ignite a fire. That includes dry grass, leaves and other areas/materials that could act as fuel. The MDC also said to keep an approved fire extinguisher on hand and keep water nearby to put out any sparks or flames that pop up. Celebrants should also wet the ground around where the fireworks are going off.

But realistically, fireworks rarely are confined to the immediate areas where they are ignited. So be cognizant of where those aerial rockets land and ensure they don’t damage your neighbors’ property either.

Within Cole County, residential fireworks displays are allowed.

Presiding County Commissioner Sam Bushman said the county wouldn’t ban fireworks and that it wouldn’t be feasible to enforce one if a ban was in place. He said fire protection district chiefs would be giving a presentation this week on how to safely use fireworks at home.

In Jefferson City, the risk of damage from fireworks should be minimal since they are illegal within the city limits.

Jason Turner, Jefferson City Fire Department division chief of prevention, offers this sage advice: “Go to a public display, let the professionals handle those and enjoy them.”

And one of the best public displays in the state will be right here among us. The Capital City will be staging a massive commercial fireworks display at 9:45 p.m. July 4 at the riverfront near the Capital.

Bushman also encouraged residents to go to public displays.

“I would encourage people to come watch the fireworks. That way they don’t have to spend a lot of money, and they can see one heck of a show. That’s probably the safest way to actually enjoy and see fireworks,” Bushman said.

And your neighbors will probably thank you for it.

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