People at an election night watch party react after an abortion rights amendment to the Missouri constitution passed, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Missouri state Rep. Phil Amato (R-Arnold) has introduced House Bill 807, a bill that would establish a database to track pregnant women who may be “at risk for seeking an abortion.”

Amato introduced the bill last month, and it was referred to the Committee on Children and Families last week. Amato and Gerard Harms, an adoption attorney who wrote the bill, testified in front of the committee on Tuesday, where Harms said the bill would establish an “eHarmony for babies,” referencing the dating website.

“We’re looking at something like eHarmony for babies — mothers who want to put up their children need to match with prospective parents,” Harms told the committee Tuesday. “That’s exactly what the intent of this is. Against, inartfully drafted.”

In addition to a database, the bill would establish the division of maternal and child resources, a new branch of the state Department of Social Services. According to the bill’s text, the new division would work to prevent mothers who are “at risk of seeking an abortion,” including instruction to “maintain a central registry of each expectant mother” and “coordinate community resources and provide assistance” to promote adoption.

Mallory Schwarz, the executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, told The Independent that the bill is a reminder of previous attempts to surveil pregnant women in Missouri. In 2019, it was reported that the Missouri director of health kept a spreadsheet tracking the menstrual cycles of Planned Parenthood patients.

“The flippant and disturbing remarks heard today about establishing ‘e-Harmony for babies’ encouraging prospective families to shop for children should ring alarm bells for everyone,” Schwarz said. “No pregnant person, no child is off the table for anti-abortion politicians to exploit in order to further their own power and control over our bodies, families, and futures.”

Amato did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Harmen’s eHarmony comment or the ethical concerns of the bill.

In addition to tracking pregnant women, HB 807 would also create a central registry of prospective adoptive parents who “has successfully completed certain screenings, background checks, home studies, and other investigations to ensure the fit of the prospective parent to adopt a child.”

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights into law last November. Despite the will of the voters, the Missouri GOP has been attempting to restrict access to the procedure. Abortion access in Missouri was reimplemented over the weekend for the first time since the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion clinics resumed providing care earlier this month after a judge blocked regulations that were making it “medically unnecessary and invasive” to give abortion care.