Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have required a 72-hour wait for women seeking abortions, asserting that legislators showed a "callous disregard for women" by granting no exception for rape and incest victims.
Republican legislators quickly vowed to override the governor's decision, and they may have the numbers to do so. The GOP-led legislature approved the plan earlier this year only one vote shy of the supermajority needed to undo a veto.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Kevin Elmer of the southwestern town of Nixa, would have made Missouri the third state — behind South Dakota and Utah — with a three-day waiting requirement.