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Missouri’s Donald Trump shall, however, possess one enduring legacy no matter what happens Tuesday: Anti-Abortion History will remember him as the predator who ended nearly half a century of national protection for Extremist women’s reproductive freedom. Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominees, especially the most recent one, will see to that by overturnSen. Andrew Koenig is the man ing Roe v. Wade. who would force victims to bear their rapist’s baby I see no point in waiting for the post-Roe world to discuss the forbidden topic of abortion in substance and not just slogan and BY RAY HARTMANN labels, the preferred currency of both sides of the non-debate. If I’m an outlier, so be it.

Obviously, next week’s elec- We’ve got the perfect guy to focus tion is the most important on, right here in St. Louis County, in the lifetime of anyone liv- in state Senator Andrew Koenig, ing. There’s really nothing R-Manchester. Koenig is locked in much left to say, at least not a tight reelection race with state in this space. Representative Deb Lavender, D-

Either you have decided to vote Kirkwood. against the psychotic racist nar- At 37, Koenig is viewed as a cissist with the dictatorial dreams charismatic rising star by the exor not. I’m not going to change treme right an of his party. nd any minds. by extreme, I mean he’s part of

the creepy Conservative Caucus, six state senators who planted their ag in apparently out of concern that their eighteen fellow right-wing conservative Republican senators were not sufficiently zealous. Yikes.

By contrast, Lavender is a prochoice centrist whose air of moderation and studiousness harkens to a bygone era in which actual facts mattered. It’s hard to imagine two more contrasting personas than those of Koenig and Lavender.

Koenig is the proud author of one of the most fanatical antiabortion laws in America, passed in and presently under challenge in the judicial system. Koenig’s bill would outlaw abortion at eight weeks — with no exceptions for rape and incest — and would impose criminal sentences of five to fifteen years for doctors.

Koenig has left famed anti-choice warrior John Ashcroft in his dust. For her part, Lavender is solidly, but noiselessly, a NARAL-supported pro-choice candidate who, as is the custom of her party, hasn’t made the abortion issue the centerpiece of her case for election.

Whether that’s the best strategy remains to be seen, but let’s savor this irony The th district lies almost entirely in the congressional district once held by a very famous man: very former Congressman Todd Akin.

Yes, Koenig’s senatorial district is in Todd Akin country. And so is Koenig. More important, Koenig’s actions are worse than Akin’s words with regard to the crime of rape.

To refresh your memory, Akin disgraced Missouri on the national stage in ugust to a degree the Marauding McCloskey’s could only dream of. Akin’s weirdness captivated the nation just thirteen days after he won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Interviewed on KTVI-TV by journalist Charles Jaco about whether he believed abortion was ustified in cases of rape, Akin responded that rape doesn’t result in preg-

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nancy. Here are his famous words:

“ t seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. f it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down. mmediately, Twitter exploded with rage, and the reelection of Senator laire c as ill was assured when Republicans were unable “to shut the whole thing down with respect to in’s candidacy. “ ’ve never spo en with ongressman in, said all doctors.

We can loo bac on with a smile. ut there’s nothing lighthearted about loo ing forward to a nation governed by a law as despicable as the one oenig authored.

Let’s be clear about what oenig, the “conservative champion of less government would impose upon the women of issouri. nd let’s do something unusual state the law affirmatively for what it would impose, rather than negatively for what it would oppose. f a young girl or grown woman is raped even by a relative big government will force her to endure a pregnancy and carry the rapist’s seed to childbirth, without her consent or that of her parents, loved ones, spiritual advisers, doctors or anyone else. eriod.

This tyrannical edict will be carried out in the name of life as defined by certain hristian religions, in callous disregard for a forgotten irst mendment provision that says, “ ongress shall ma e no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

The definition of life beginning at conception is not universally held. wide range of established religious groups differ on the question, publicly and officially. oenig’s religiously informed definition of life should never be imposed by a secular government. Whether it’s the Talmud defining the fetus becoming a human being at days of pregnancy or a wide range of rotestant hristian denominations and all manner of non- hristian faiths or people of no faith disagreeing with “pro-life religions, those viewpoints have equal standing under our laws.

The irst mendment clearly protects the rights of those of oenig’s faith to practice their religion freely. t does not protect their right to write it into law for the rest of us. s a father of a teenage girl, cannot imagine anything more immoral than a government coercing a child li e her to bring a rapist’s spawn into the world if God forbid she were impregnated by such a monster. ust imagine it our precious child has ust had her world shattered twice. irst, with the assault, then with the trauma of learning that the spawn of the rapist is growing inside her. nd she turns to you to ma e it all go away. ot in issouri you don’t. o, the state of issouri does not see a role of government in caring about your little girl, much less you. t has a much higher purpose, you see: It needs to protect the unborn life that can be created by the rape. nd let’s not forget The horror of this despicable abuse by government is hardly limited to young girls. o woman, of any age, should be persecuted so horrendously by government.

The enters for Disease ontrol states that “almost million women in the .S. experienced raperelated pregnancy during their lifetime. That might be news to in and irrelevant to oenig.

On October , oenig posted the following on his aceboo page “Of my many legislative accomplishments, the one of which am most proud is Senate ill . t addresses the bac log of rape it testing in issouri and allows for perpetrators of sexual crimes to be more swiftly held accountable for their actions. t has been an honor to see this bi-partisan legislation through on behalf of our state’s sexual assault survivors who are loo ing for ustice.

To be fair, it’s a fine bill, although he didn’t mention that perhaps its strongest point a requirement that rape its be free to all women was an amendment by Senator ill Schupp, who happens to be the Democratic candidate for in’s old congressional seat. oenig isn’t bragging currently on his aceboo page about his bill for state government to force rape victims to bear their attac ers’ spawn. t’s such a horrible idea, no one wants to thin about such a thing, especially at election time. ut than s to Donald Trump’s anti-choice ustices, we might need to get ready for conversations li e this. opefully with as little participation as possible from the li es of ndrew oenig. n

Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on St. Louis In the Know With Ray Hartmann and Jay Kanzler from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).