Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and Missouri’s largest anti-abortion group expressed reservations Thursday about newly proposed legislation seeking to ban most abortions in the state.

KMBC Kansas City has more:

Blunt said he feared an abortion ban could lock the state in a legal battle, which Missouri Right to Life said may not yet be winnable.

Their comments came a day after Sen. Jason Crowell introduced a pair of ballot measures asking voters to prohibit abortions except to save the life of a woman.

Blunt, who has supported other efforts to restrict abortions, told reporters: “I’m not convinced it’s necessary” to pass a general abortion ban.

“I think we need to really focus on the legislation that will reduce the number of abortions in our state — not just set up court battles,” Blunt said.

Crowell has said he hopes his measure — if passed by lawmakers and voters — would result in a legal challenge that reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

A similar abortion ban recently passed the South Dakota legislature, and Republican Gov. Mike Rounds has said he is inclined to sign it. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, also said he probably would sign an abortion ban bill under consideration in the state House.

Crowell’s pair of proposals — one a constitutional amendment, the other a change in law — would go directly to Missouri’s ballot if passed by the Legislature, without need of the governor’s signature.

“I just consider myself a pro-life legislator … and ending abortions is the most pro-life anyone can be,” Crowell said Thursday. “I think the time is now to end abortions in the state of Missouri.”

But not everyone in Missouri’s anti-abortion movement, which historically has received strong bipartisan support in the Legislature, agrees.

“We’re obviously in favor of a ban on abortion; that is our ultimate goal. But we are concerned about the timing,” said Patty Skain, executive director of Missouri Right to Life.

Skain said she fears there aren’t enough votes on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing a right to abortion. If an appeal of a state abortion ban reaches the court too soon, it could backfire by resulting in a ruling that reaffirms abortion rights, she said.

Alison Gee, political director for Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, said Crowell is seeking to impose extreme limitations.

“His proposals would also not take into account at all the health and safety of women,” she said. “The really unconscionable piece about all this is this is the same body trying to make it harder for women to access legal contraception.”

Crowell also is the sponsor of legislation that would prohibit pharmacies from disciplining employees who refuse to fill prescriptions to which they have objections, such as Plan B emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill.

Crowell’s abortion legislation would make it a felony to perform an abortion when not saving a women’s life, punishable by a prison sentence of five to 15 years.

When asked about Crowell’s bill, Blunt noted that Missouri law already states that life begins at conception.

“I’m not convinced anything is necessary to add to that,” the governor said.