Simon’s Law, fentanyl trafficking bill head to Senate | News

JEFFERSON CITY — Rory Rowland pushed the green button Monday with no hesitation.

Rowland, a democratic state representative from Independence, was voting in favor of Simon’s Law, which requires doctors to provide parental notification before placing do-not-resuscitate orders on children.

Rowland described his experience having a son with a developmental disorder, and how that impacted his decision on the bill.

“If you were a parent and you had a child with a congenital defect, as difficult as it would be, you want to be informed,” he said. “You want that doctor to tell you the good, the bad, the ugly.”

The bill is named after Simon Crosier, who died three months after his birth from complications associated with Trisomy 18, a life-threatening developmental disorder.

Doctors at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis placed a DNR order on his medical chart without the consent of either of his parents.

The proposed law, House Bill 138, won final approval in the House unanimously Monday.

Rowland also said this legislation is one of the few times he won’t question voting yes.

“This is one time in this body that I am going to hit the green button without any uncertainty,” Rowland said. “There is not a fiber of my being or a fiber of my soul that questions the parent’s right to know.”

Rep. Bill Kidd, R-Buckner, the bill’s sponsor, said about six or seven states are in the process of creating laws similar to House Bill 138.

Along with Simon’s Law, the House also passed legislation that will make the trafficking of fentanyl illegal. Violators who knowingly distribute, manufacture or deliver fentanyl will be guilty of a felony.

House Bill 239 changes three provisions related to controlled substances. Along with fentanyl, the bill also makes it a felony for people to distribute, manufacture or deliver GHB and Rohypnol.

Both House Bill 239 and 138 will now go up to the Senate for consideration.