Anna Spoerre
Reporter, Missouri IndependentAnna Spoerre covers reproductive health care for The Missouri Independent. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, she most recently worked at the Kansas City Star where she focused on storytelling that put people at the center of wider issues. Before that she was a courts reporter for the Des Moines Register.
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Missouri Democrats filibustered for more than 11 hours to try and block the bill, which they say will hurt low-income and disabled patients. The legislation would make it financially difficult for Planned Parenthood clinics in the state — which do not provide abortions — to provide health services for Medicaid recipients. -
A Republican-backed bill would block Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood. Health care providers fear it will harm patients’ access to critical care. -
Jamie Corley, a Republican from University City, officially filed to run in the GOP primary this week. Her campaign would have legalized abortion up to 12 weeks and add exceptions for victims of rape and incest. This is her first time running for public office. -
Doulas and birth centers are considered part of the solution to Missouri’s "unacceptable" maternal mortality crisis. But current law makes it difficult to help mothers most in need, because many doulas aren't eligible for Medicaid reimbursements. -
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's lawsuit relies on a video from the right-wing Project Veritas. A former Missouri Supreme Court chief justice said it presents the courts with a hypothetical question rather than a reality. -
Constitutional law experts and anti-abortion advocates agree the ballot petition campaign could upend decades of laws aimed at limiting abortion access in Missouri. But even if voters approve the amendment, it wouldn't restore access overnight, and would face years of legal challenges. -
Missouri’s highest court for the second time in four years rebuked the efforts by Republican lawmakers to ban abortion providers and their affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
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As Republican lawmakers voted down amendments aimed at legalizing abortion in cases of rape or incest, one state senator defended the decision, saying, "God does not make mistakes." -
Abortion rights advocates said cutting funding to Planned Parenthood would be a "devastating blow" to Missouri's public health safety net. The Missouri Supreme Court previously struck down a state budget that would exclude abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. -
The effort to get an abortion rights amendment on the 2024 ballot has the support of the major abortion advocacy groups in the state. But it’s also drawn criticism from activists over its fetal viability standard.
