Anti-abortion lawmaker Moon beheads chicken ahead of special session

Pulls out chicken’s heart to “get to the heart of the matter”

ASH GROVE, Mo. – Rep. Mike Moon evidently does not believe Gov. Eric Greitens’ calls for an extraordinary session goes far enough to end abortion.

And to prove it, he killed and dressed a chicken and posted a video of the act to Facebook. Viewer discretion advised: A transcript of the video has been posted below for those with weaker stomachs.

When the governor called for the second special session this year, I was right in the middle of my summer job. But like any good career politician, when I get the call (breaks to behead chicken), I’m going back to work. God gave us man dominion over life. He allows us to raise animals properly and care for them and then process them for food so we can sustain life. And that’s what I’m doing here with this chicken. So we’ve been called back to this special session for the primary purpose of supporting life, protecting the unborn specifically. I think we need to get to the heart of the matter here (pulls out chicken’s heart). So today, I’m filing a bill that will lead to the stopping of abortion in the state of Missouri and I hope you’ll support it.

Moon has long been perhaps the most vocal and far-right abortion opponent in the Missouri General Assembly since he assumed office in 2013. He has filed multiple pieces of legislation to ban the practice of abortion in the state but has yet to gain much traction on the issue. He has filed a bill for the second extraordinary session, which the governor called to increase abortion regulations, that would continue with that trend.

The representative last raised eyebrows in his crusade against abortion when he filed a bill in the 2017 regular session to mandate the state Capitol museum include an exhibit on the history of abortion on the first floor of the Capitol.

Some of his critics often accuse him of grandstanding and this newest video did little to dissuade them of that belief. Alison Dreith, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, called the video “theatrics.”

“Whatever Mike Moon does with a chicken in the privacy of his home is his own business,” Dreith told the Missouri Times. “But we will not let him use the rights of women across Missouri as some kind of political prop. His call to ban abortion is disturbing and dangerous, no matter what he does with that chicken.”

Moon was not immediately available for comment.