Missouri Senate endorses 'conscience' objections bill

With several thousand Missourians coming to the Capitol for Tuesday's mid-day "Rally for Religious Liberty," state Senate leaders focused on the proposed law protecting employers from being forced to provide health care coverage they don't believe in.

The measure, which won first-round approval after the rally, concentrates on "contraceptive" services - including family planning, sterilization and abortion - that some oppose on religious and/or moral grounds.

"I think there's a tremendous amount of misinformation," sponsor John Lamping, R-Ladue, said. "It's not been made clear in the public discourse that, today, women receive contraceptive services when their need for them (is) the result of a medical issue."