JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – In late February, Missouri lawmakers passed House Bills 243 and 280, which look to prohibit courts from using pregnancy status as a reason to not dissolve a marriage or legal separation. 

Both bills reverse two sections, 452.305 and 452.310, and instead replace them with 452.305 and 452.3. HB 280 stood on its own originally until it was replaced with a substitute bill, making HB 243 the primary bill. Despite that, both bills are identical. 

The Children & Families Committee heard the bills, which Rep. Cecelie Williams (R-111) and Rep. Raychel Proudie (D-73) bipartisanly supported. 

Those in agreement with the bill believe it can provide safety and reassurance for victims. 

Williams testified for the bill’s purpose, sharing her past relationship with her ex-husband with the committee. She recounted a graphic incident with her ex-partner that left her with a broken left jaw and orbital bone.

Despite that traumatic event, Williams attempted to leave the relationship. However, Missouri’s law created difficulties for her as she was pregnant at the time, preventing her from dissolving the marriage.

“The emotional, psychological and physical pain I endured didn’t stop just because I was carrying our fourth child. It would seem, from my perspective, that the law didn’t care that I was safe,” Williams said to the committee. 

Others alongside Williams, including Matthew Huffman, Chief Public Affairs Officer at the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, as well as groups Abortion Action Missouri and Planned Parenthood, testified in support of the bill. 

In a unanimous vote, the bill was passed, perfecting it with no opposing opinions voiced to the committee.

HB 243 and 280 head to Missouri’s Senate for further discussion.