Democrat Says Missouri AG’s Teen Pregnancy Argument In Abortion Pill Lawsuit Is ‘Insane’ . Missouri Independent

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s claim that a decline in teen pregnancies could hurt the state financially and politically is “an absolutely insane argument,” his Democratic rival said Thursday on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“Apparently he believes we need more teen pregnancies in Missouri because otherwise we could lose a congressional seat or federal funding if our population declines,” said Elad Gross, a St. Louis attorney who is challenging Bailey. He added: “There’s definitely a lot to unpack there.”

Gross was responding to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by Bailey and GOP attorneys general from Kansas and Idaho trying to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

An earlier version of the lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court after it concluded that the plaintiffs had no standing because they could not prove that they had suffered damages.

To gain status this time, Bailey argues that access to mifepristone would lower “birth rates for teenage mothers,” causing a population loss that could result in “a reduction in political representation and the loss of federal funds.”

Missouri AG claims in abortion pill lawsuit that fewer teen pregnancies hurt the state financially

Missouris teen pregnancy birth rate has steadily declined in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although it remains among the highest in the country.

Bailey’s lawsuit, Gross noted, specifically looks at pregnancy rates for 15- to 19-year-olds.

“He’s talking about people who are, in some cases, minors,” Gross said, “in a state where our abortion ban does not include exceptions for rape or incest.”

In Missouri, 15 and 16 year olds cannot consent to sex with someone who is more than 4 years older or older than 21 years.

Bailey’s campaign responded to Gross’ criticism by citing a 2009 op-ed that Gross wrote for Duke University’s student newspaper where he criticized then-President Barack Obama for appointing so many “czars” to tackle difficult issues.

In the piece, Gross jokingly says that if Obama insists on “appointing a czar for every crisis area, he might want to appoint a czar of reproduction,” since “more teenage girls are becoming mothers and more children are being born to unmarried mothers…. Sounds like a job for a czar!”

“Andrew Bailey has always protected innocent life, while Mr. Gross advocated that Barack Obama appoint a federal ‘reproductive czar’ to oversee teen pregnancy as a solution,” Bailey’s campaign said in an e-mail statement sent by email. “The loss of innocent human life comes at a cost that shatters the moral fabric of society, and our pro-abortion opponent is grossly ignoring these costs in favor of an extremely late and unrestricted abortion policy.”

Gross said his 2009 piece was clearly a criticism of “big government” and the Obama administration.

“I didn’t know Bailey had such a problem with reading comprehension,” Gross said, “but that would explain a lot of his losses in court.”