I’m A Health Care Attorney. Here Are The Dangers My Doctors Face Now That Roe Is Gone. , by Lisa Larson-Bunnell, HuffPost
Every time an abortion is performed in a Missouri facility, the provider is required to submit a Report of Induced Termination of Pregnancy to the state. The information in the report is ostensibly used for public health purposes. However, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is clear that the reports can be used for other purposes.
My expectation is that these reports will be reviewed for potential prosecution. Under the Missouri statute, the physician must offer an affirmative defense in order to prove that the termination of pregnancy was, indeed, a medical emergency. That is, the statute shifts the burden for criminal prosecution from “innocent until proven guilty,” to “guilty until proven innocent.”