It's hard to keep track of all the recent attacks on reproductive rights, but a Missouri lawmaker may have just won the prize for "Most Outrageous Anti-Abortion Argument." State Representative Mike Moon beheaded a chicken and pulled out its heart on camera , then posted the gruesome video to his Facebook page.
According to Moon, he was "inspired" to make the video after Missouri Governer Eric Greitens decided to convene the second special legislative session of the summer, which will address a number of abortion-related bills that didn't advance during the initial session. Although the legislation being reviewed proposes additional restrictions to abortion clinics in the state, none of them seek to ban the practice entirely.
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Moon thinks the session is a waste of everyone's time and money if banning abortion isn't on the table. So he decided that killing a chicken and tearing out its heart would be a fantastic metaphor for abortion.
“God gave us man dominion over life,” Moon stated before he decapitated the chicken. “He allows us to raise animals properly and care for them and then process them for food so we can sustain life. And that’s what I’m doing here with this chicken. So we’ve been called back to this special session for the primary purpose of supporting life, protecting the unborn specifically.”
He proceeded to pull out the chicken's heart, adding: “I think we need to get to the heart of the matter here."
Unsurprisingly, Moon's video received a slew of negative comments. He later returned to Facebook to criticize viewers who were "freaking out about the chicken video" but are unbothered by killing a "baby" through abortion.
Pro-choice advocates believe Moon's stunt was an effort to intimidate women who are considering abortion. "He routinely compares abortion to the Holocaust and slavery and this is another example of him grandstanding in a disturbing and dangerous way," Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, told The Washington Post. Moon has previously pushed for the state capitol building to add a graphic abortion display to its museum.
You can view the video here, but please be advised that the footage is extremely graphic and disturbing.