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May 31, 2019

Louisiana Governor Signs Anti-Choice Bill as Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Is Set to Close
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Louisiana on Thursday became the fifth state in the nation to enact a
six-week abortion ban, when Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signed
a bill that offers no exceptions for rape or incest. Meanwhile, Missouri
is poised today to become the first state in the nation without a single
clinic providing abortions, as a judge in St. Louis weighs a last-minute
legal challenge to plans by state officials to revoke a medical license
for Planned Parenthood's St. Louis clinic. On Thursday, St. Louis police
arrested 17 activists at a state office building as they held a sit-in
protest demanding a license renewal. Hundreds more protested outside,
chanting "My body, my choice!" This is Kawanna Shannon, director of
surgical services at Planned Parenthood's St. Louis clinic.

Kawanna Shannon: "State of Missouri, please keep your fingers out of our
vaginas. Planned Parenthood also does vasectomies. Those men are able to
come in with no hassle, no problems, no concerns, and they get their
vasectomy free of choice, with no hurdles to jump over. And then a woman
comes in, raped by a whole motorcycle gang, and you make her wait 72
hours to think about it."

Five other states have only a single clinic offering abortions:
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia.
Later in the broadcast, we'll speak with Laura Kaplan, author of "The
Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service."


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