JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House took its first step toward enacting one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws on a near party-line vote Tuesday afternoon.

A bill from Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, would ban nearly all abortions once a fetus’s heartbeat is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks into a pregnancy and before abortion rights advocates say many women even know they’re pregnant.

The only exception would be a medical emergency.

Republicans said they were saving lives and preventing regrettable decisions before the 110-37 vote that saw three Democrats vote with the majority.

Democrats, on the other hand, called the bill "dangerous and extreme" legislation that would hurt women and push them to pursue unsafe procedures on their own.

The bill will need one more vote before it heads to the Senate.

It was not immediately clear how or when the Senate will vote on the measure.

But in an interview earlier this month, Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said abortion restrictions are a priority for conservatives following the introduction of legislation in other states expanding abortion rights to the limits allowed by the Supreme Court.

“We’re going to have a serious and substantive conversation in the wake of what happened in New York and Virginia,” Rowden said.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson offered praise along similar lines in a statement Tuesday night.

“As other states in our nation ... venture further and further away from the American ideal to uphold the right to life, I’m honored to lead a state with so many people committed to standing up for those without a voice," he said.

It’s not clear how the bill will fare if it is ultimately passed, though.

Iowa and North Dakota have enacted heartbeat bills only to have courts strike them down as unconstitutional.

But lawmakers in Ohio, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky are pushing similar bills this year, and Mississippi lawmakers sent one to their governor's desk earlier this month.

And Republicans across the country are optimistic about their fight against abortion with the Supreme Court shifting to the right under President Trump.

Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, who is sponsoring a heartbeat bill in the Senate, conceded an appeals court would probably throw out the standard at this point. But, he added, "if you find 30-40 states that pass something like this, the courts will take another look at it."

Republicans also added a number of provisions to the bill, including: