The Missouri state representative who introduced a bill that would require a woman to obtain the written, notarized consent of the father before obtaining an abortion has defended the proposed legislation despite outcry from state Democrats and women's health groups.

In an interview with local NBC affiliate KHSB on Thursday, Rep. Rick Brattin said H.B. 131, which he filed in early December, was a bid to stand up for men's rights, which, he said, have been eroded by feminists.

“With the women's movement for equal rights, well it's swung so far we have now taken away the man's right and the say in their child's life,” Brattin said. "Right now the way it is, the woman gets the full say and the father gets no say, and I think that that needs to change.”

The law, which Brattin tried, and failed, to get to the State House floor earlier this year, drew attention and criticism on Wednesday when the Republican representative told Mother Jones that victims of rape would have to "prove it" to be eligible for an exception to the provision.

"So you couldn't just go and say, 'Oh yeah, I was raped' and get an abortion. It has to be a legitimate rape," he told the magazine, using a now infamous phrase. He distanced himself from the man who coined that term, former Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, who lost a U.S. Senate campaign after he said "legitimate rape" would not result in pregnancy because women's bodies have "ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Brattin said in the TV interview, however, that the statement had been "misinterpreted" and he clarified to the Associated Press that he meant that statutes that define rape would apply. The language of the bill does provide an exception for women whose "pregnancy resulted from rape or incest," but it does not specify how the existence of those crimes would be determined.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who defeated Akin to retain her seat, called the bill "offensive and absurd" in a statement, according to the AP. She also pointed out that women don't realistically have time to wait for a rape charge to work its way through the legal system before obtaining an abortion.

"This is just a a back-door way to eliminate any rape exception, unless the survivor gets a permission slip from her rapist," she said.

When KSHB asked Brattin if he understood why some women might take offense to his legislation, Brattin responded: “Well it's not a woman's body with an abortion. It's a child's body. It's a child's life that's taken. The woman's life is not altered.”

Laura McQuade, Planned Parenthood's Kansas and Mid-Missouri CEO told the NBC affiliate that the bill went beyond abortion restriction. “This is a human rights violation when it comes to suggesting that women would need permission in order to obtain the healthcare that they decide is right for themselves," she said.

Though Brattin's previous attempt at passing the bill never made it out of committee, Republicans increased their super majorities in both the state's House and Senate in the November midterm elections and Brattin is reportedly hopeful that will make a difference.

Republicans used their majority in September to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a law which requires a 72-hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion in the state, without exceptions for rape or incest.

Only two other states require a waiting period that long: Utah and South Dakota.

Missouri's Republican Party chairman, Ed Martin, told KSHB that he had not yet seen the bill, but that the party was supportive of restrictive measures.

"When we see bills that are trying to address the seriousness of abortion, we certainly are encouraging,” Martin said.

The bill, if it makes it out of committee and through the state House and Senate, would also require doctors to provide patients with a long list of information 72 hours before the procedure. The list includes a description of "possible adverse psychological effects," abortion alternatives, "anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child," and written materials that "prominently" state that "the life of each human being begins at conception," to name a few.

According to Missouri law, bills that are pre-filed, such as this one, are introduced on the first day of the new session before they are assigned to committee. In Missouri, that's January 7, 2015. According to KHSB, Brattin expects opposition from the "militant feminist movement."