JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers enacted new religious exemptions from insurance coverage of birth control Wednesday, overriding a gubernatorial veto and delivering a political rebuke to an Obama administration policy requiring insurers to cover contraception.
Although Missouri and 20 other states already had some sort of exemption from contraceptive coverage, Missouri's newly expanded law appears to be the first in the nation directly rebutting the federal contraception mandate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and supporters of the law.
Republican legislative leaders barely met the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto by Gov. Jay Nixon. They got help from a few of Nixon's fellow Democrats and ultimately persuaded one particular Republican lawmaker who had opposed the measure to support the override.
The Senate vote was 26-6. The House vote was 109-45, the minimum needed for an override. Most provisions of the new law took effect immediately, though some parts won't kick in for another 30 days.
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