JEFFERSON CITY � Women seeking an abortion will have to wait 72 hours after state lawmakers overrode Gov. Jay Nixon�s veto of a bill almost certain to draw a legal challenge.

By a 117-44 vote, the House approved the bill that was this year�s litmus test for both supporters and opponents of abortion rights. The issue sparked the only large public demonstrations intended to influence votes, with opponents rallying 300 people on the Capitol lawn and supporters bringing about double that number to a rally inside.

Supporters of the bill argued that it provides only an additional period of reflection. Opponents argued that the bill intrudes on private medical decisions, adds costs and fails to provide exceptions in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.

Because it does not attempt to ban abortions, there is no need for exceptions in the case of rape or incest, supporters of the bill said.

�Incest and rape, those are tragic, tragic events, and the men that commit those atrocities should be punished to the full extent of the law,� said Rep. Kevin Elmer, R-Nixa and sponsor of the bill. �Sometimes I think that they should be put to death. We have innocent life here. It is not as important, according to the governor�s veto.�

Opponents disagreed.

�I have no right to tell someone else what to do when it comes to their medical decisions,� said Rep. Genise Montecillo, D-St. Louis. �We are trying to play God. We need to really stop this. This is about those who do not like women to make this medical choice for themselves.�

The Senate employed a rarely used parliamentary maneuver, known as the previous question, to shut off debate when Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, filibustered the bill. Commonly used in the House, it has not been employed in the Senate since 2007, when it was used to pass another abortion measure.

Republicans, with the necessary 23 members willing to vote to make the bill law over Nixon�s objections, were determined to force the vote, said Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles. They also knew that one member had to leave early in the morning.

The question, Dempsey said, became, �When are we going to get to a vote? We�d rather to have the vote just before midnight than have the same outcome at 4 a.m.�

Under Missouri law, women who seek an abortion wait 24 hours after a doctor counsels them on the procedure, potential long-term health consequences, descriptions of the gestational development of the fetus and material that includes the statement that life begins at conception. The abortionist must also provide information about alternatives such as adoption or other services to help the woman carry the fetus to term.

The bill changes the waiting time to 72 hours.

Boone County�s House members split along partisan lines on the bill, with Republican Reps. Caleb Rowden and Caleb Jones supporting the override, and Democratic Reps. Chris Kelly, Stephen Webber and John Wright opposed.

Rallies drew supporters from all over the state. �Every life is precious,� Susan Jaramillo of Show Me Life Missouri told the bill�s supporters. �You are making a difference.�

Outside, Crystal DeShazo of Columbia came dressed in a mask and cape decorated with a clenched fist inside a symbol of the planet Venus. She said she made the costume earlier in the year as the bill was originally being debated. Women in Missouri feel they are under attack, she said. �We need a superhero.�

This story was first published Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at 9:59 p.m.