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Abortion debate divides Wagner, Gunby in race for Congress

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner voted against the 'Right to Contraception Act,' while state representative Trish Gunby says she would vote to allow abortion with no limits.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri — More than one in five Missouri voters ranked "protecting abortion rights" as the top issue on their minds as the 2022 midterms approach. 

The Missouri Scout reported the findings in a new poll, with 21% of Missouri voters listing abortion access as their most important issue. The topic trails close behind inflation, which registered as the top issue with 22% of voters in surveyed in the poll. 

Voter registration and early polling across the country have shown strong, sustained interest in the abortion issue since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision. The issue carries even greater significance in Missouri after the Republican-led state legislature adopted the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation. 

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) suggested the state's abortion ban, which allows no exceptions for victims of rape or incest, was more extreme than she would've preferred. 

"The Dobbs case said this gets returned to the state legislatures," Wagner said she was asked if the state's abortion ban went too far. "I don't know what will happen in the state of Missouri when they go back into session, whether that will be adjusted or changed in any way shape or form. I support exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother."

State Rep. Trish Gunby (D-Ballwin) voted against the measure in the Missouri House and regularly discusses abortion in her campaign to challenge Wagner in Missouri's Second Congressional District. 

"I personally was hospitalized with my second child," Gunby said. "Giving birth, being pregnant, there are risks involved with all of that. And so the fact that our state has now decided that you're going to be forced to carry a pregnancy, especially for somebody who may be very young, who emotionally is not ready physically is not ready, we have made that decision for them, and there is risk involved in all of that."

Gunby said she would support a federal law codifying abortion protections in the law with no restrictions, which is a position that goes beyond the abortion provisions allowed in Roe v. Wade. That court decision recognized a state's interest in protecting unborn life in the third trimester. Gunby argued doctors and pregnant patients are in a better position than politicians to make decisions in the late-term stages of pregnancy.

"Things can happen at that point," Gunby said in an August interview where she declined to put any limitations on legal abortions. "I don't believe it's up to me to legislate what happens in that instance. Certainly, that is between a woman and that person's doctor."

"The government needs just needs to stay out of the examining room, period," she said. 

Wagner, who enjoys the advantage of a new district gerrymandered to include more rural, Republican voters, dodged the debate stage with Gunby to avoid boosting the lesser-known candidate's visibility. Wagner said she felt her anti-abortion views would resonate with more voters in the suburbs of St. Louis. 

"I will be happy to defend my position, my pro-life position in Missouri's Second Congressional District," Wagner said. "I have my entire life and I continue will continue to do so."

In that interview, Wagner twice denied that she voted against birth control, a claim that Gunby leveled against her. 

Congressional voting records show Wagner did vote against the 'Right to Contraception Act' when it passed the House. 

In a text message from her spokesman, Wagner said the bill contained language that would've "allowed chemical abortions." 

"To be perfectly clear, I fully agree that young women should have the ability to responsibly access safe contraception and other birth control medication," Wagner said Sunday night. "The fact is, you can't just go by the name of the bill when you're deciding what to support or oppose."

The legislation specifically singled out the state of Missouri, along with Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, as states that "have infringed on people's ability to access their contraceptive care by violating the free choice of provider requirement under the Medicaid program." 

Below is the full, unedited interview with Rep. Ann Wagner recorded on August 25, 2022. She begins discussing her stance on abortion at the 13:25 minute mark.

    

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