Law makers in Missouri passed the controversial abortion bill, which outlaws nearly all abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy.

The bill approved by the Republican-led Senate must be backed by Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson and the Missouri House.

The proposed bill will outlaw abortion after eight weeks in almost all cases, including cases of rape and incest.

Missouri state Senator Jill Schupp, a Democrat, critiqued the bill for its inability to “understand that women’s lives all hold different stories.”

Missouri joins fellow states; Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio all of which have recently passed bills regarding the banning of abortion.

Alabama’s bill, passed Wednesday, signified a near complete ban on all abortion in the state.

Most anti-abortion bills have faced legal challenges; however, pro-life supporters of the bills are hoping to have the Supreme Court resend the land mark decision that legalized abortion in 1973, with Roe v. Wade.

Earlier in 2019 the Supreme Court blocked new abortion restrictions in Louisiana; however, the vote was

made by a narrow margin and is up for is due to be reviewed later in 2019.

Since the start of the century the amount of states that have become hostile towards the idea of abortion has increased drastically. Increasing from four states in 2000 to nearly half of the country (21 states).

Following the 1973 mission to legalize abortion, pro-life activists have understood that until the collective ideology of the nine-member court changed, little to no change regarding abortion would be possible.

With the future of Roe v Wade in doubt the upcoming 2020 election becomes even more important with the discussion of abortion changing from a legal debate to a political debate.

Several states have enacted bills that place restrictions on the process of abortion; early in 2019 four states – Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia and Ohio- have signed bills that ban abortion if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected.

The conversation regarding abortion, like many current conversations in the United States, is heavily polarized. Often giving the illusion that the conversation can not be had; however, this is a conversation that needs to be had on a national level and across party lines in order to have the best conversation possible moving forward.