JEFFERSON CITY — The House Committee on Children and Families held hearings Tuesday on several bills that failed to pass last year, including one allowing pregnant women to file for divorce.

House bills 1908 and 2337 would allow a pregnant woman to file for divorce, and were sponsored respectively by Reps. Cecelie Williams, R-Dittmerm, and Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson.

“One of the most important things is that with the Equal Rights Act, Missouri never ratified, so it’s not in our constitution that women have the same rights as men in Missouri,” Williams said. “That means that we have to change statutes like this one at a time.”

The bills received wide public support, with testimonies from associations of social workers, lawyers, Planned Parenthood and a battered women’s shelter.

“Pregnancy can be an especially risky time for a woman experiencing domestic violence, as many women report that the abuse started or intensified when they became pregnant,” said Jessica Hill, chief public affairs officer for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

“This bill will provide judges the option to finalize divorce and help prevent abusive partners from controlling access to safety and care for both moms and babies,” Hill added. “Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation.”

Similar legislation passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate.

Other bills that the committee heard relate to standards of care for abortion providers when an abortion is performed but the baby survives.

The bills, 1667 and 2294, known as the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” would make it illegal for a provider to harm a baby that was born after a failed abortion, whether through negligence or malice. The bill seeks to set such acts as a first-degree murder.

Infanticide is currently illegal under Missouri and federal law.

“Federal law states that all infants who are born alive following an abortion are full persons under the law,” said Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, who is the sponsor of HB 1667. “However, the federal law does not ensure that these infants are given proper medical care, showing the need for this legislation in Missouri.”

A similar bill passed the House and a Senate committee last year but failed to gain final passage.