Pratt Shamelessly Invokes Mohler Sex Case To Support New Coercion Bill

This morning before the House Children and Families Committee, Rep. Bryan Pratt (R-Blue Springs) presented his new informed consent/coercion bill (HB2000) which would, among other things, require providers to notify prosecuting attorneys about any abortions provided to women under the age of 17.

Current law requires providers to notify authorities of any pregnancies/abortions for girls under the age of 14. 

That, however, did not stop Pratt from telling the committee that his law could have helped prevent some of the abuse allegedly committed by five men arrested in Lafayette County in November for sex crimes against children.  The alleged abuse by the men in the Mohler family is incredibly disturbing (you can read more here); among other things, a key witness in the case says she had an abortion at age 11 1/2. 

Pratt told the committee his bill could prevent similar abuse in the future. 

I thought, "Well, how can you, how can we at this point, how can we have stopped that, and stopped the abuse then?"

And I went through the [inaudible] in my mind, and I thought, here's the best way to do it: A child has an abortion, I believe that that information should be conveyed to law enforcement. The prosecuting attorney in the county where the abortion was done, and the prosecuting attorney in the county of which they live.

It is my belief, it is my firm belief, that if the Lafayette County Prosecutor would have obtained information that a very young child had an abortion that many years ago, that I think you could have stopped the abuse. You could have stopped this horrific alleged abuse later on.

Rep. Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee's Summit) echoed Pratt's comments later in the hearing, expressing hope that Pratt's bill could stop such abuse in other instances. 

Pratt's testimony clearly suggests that abortion providers are not currently required to notify authorities if an 11 year old seeks an abortion.  But this isn't the case -- intercourse with a child under the age of 14 is statutory rape, and providers are required to notify authorities if they learn about such crimes.  Moreover, abortion providers take great care to screen all of their patients to make sure there is no evidence of coercion or abuse.

There will be plenty of debate about the Pratt's HB2000 and Birther Rep. Cynthia Davis' similar bill, HB1327, in the coming weeks and months. But I hope Pratt will abandon this cynical and misinformed argument.  The alleged crimes in the Mohler case, if true, are horrible.  But they have nothing to do with Pratt's bill.

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Here's the language in HB2000 regarding Pratt's proposal that any abortions provided to individuals under 18 be reported to local prosecutors:

Any health care professional performing an abortion on an individual younger than 17 years of age must notify the prosecuting attorney for the county in which the abortion procedure was performed and the county of residence of the individual within two business days after the abortion. The notification must include the name and age of the individual and the fact that an abortion was performed.