Joy Reid Labels Missouri a ‘Slave State’ Over Abortion Laws
MSNBC’s Joy Reid called Missouri a “slave state” over their restrictive abortion laws, claiming pregnant women are the “property” of their husbands and the state.
Reid was joined on Wednesday by Claire McCaskill, a former senator from Missouri, and Reid ripped into Missouri after McCaskill said abortion access in the state has gotten “nuts.” The segment was centered on Senate Republicans blocking a bill this week that was built to protect access to contraceptives for women.
“This didn’t have to be a show vote. All the Republicans had to do was vote yes,” McCaskill said.
She then ripped into her own state and its handling of abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Missouri is one of multiple states that quickly banned abortion in 2022 after the decision.
“Let me tell you how crazy it’s gotten in Missouri. All abortions are illegal. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Life begins at conception. It’s a personhood state, so no abortions are being performed at Planned Parenthood,” she said, also noting a bill was signed into law banning Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, which she argued provides more obstacles to obtaining contraceptives.
McCaskill called the system “nuts.”
Reid took criticism of Missouri further, calling it a “slave state” and arguing women are the “property” of their husbands and the state. She referred to concern over Missouri’s divorce laws as activists have claimed judges will not grant divorces to pregnant women in the state, though a divorce during pregnancy is not outright banned. Whether one is pregnant, however, is one of multiple key pieces of information that needs to be presented in a divorce in the state, and many argue state judges won’t grant divorces if women are pregnant.
“You’ve left off, Claire, that in your state it’s illegal for a pregnant woman to get an abortion, so they’ve also gone after no-fault divorce,” she said. “If you’re pregnant and you’re in a marriage with an abusive spouse, you can’t even get a divorce once you get pregnant. You become the property of both your husband and the state. They have joint ownership of you in the state of Missouri. That is a slave state as far as I’m concerned.”
Missouri was an actual slave slate during the Civil War. Its residents even invaded Kansas because its residents insisted they become a “free state,” so Reid’s reference does have some historical meaning.
Watch above via MSNBC.
