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 continues to see maternal and infant mortality rates, breast and cervical cancer death rates, preterm births, congenital syphilis and depression around pregnancy at rates that are higher than the national average. It also fared among the worst nationally for mental health.
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Records from Missouri election authorities show that the campaigns to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution and increase the minimum wage have both turned in more than enough valid signatures. The Missouri Secretary of State then needs to certify the ballot measures.
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The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. Missouri — which has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country — was the first state to ban almost all abortions, leaving thousands of Missourians to seek other ways to access the medical procedure.
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A lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey accusing Planned Parenthood of transporting minors out of state for abortions will move forward, a judge ruled Tuesday evening.
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The undercover video from Project Veritas allegedly shows Planned Parenthood staff telling a man pretending to have a 13-year-old pregnant niece how they could help her obtain an abortion out of state. Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the lawsuit is his latest effort to “drive Planned Parenthood out of Missouri.”
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All 14 states with abortion bans saw a decrease in OB-GYN residency applications last year, a recent study found.
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Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri no longer perform abortions; their affiliates in Illinois and Kansas do. Despite a new law restricting Medicaid reimbursements, the Missouri clinics continue to provide services such as contraceptive care, STI testing, cancer screenings and wellness checks.
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The new law will go into effect Aug. 28. Planned Parenthood, Democratic lawmakers and health organizations say the ban will cause the most harm to low-income Missourians who rely on the clinics for contraceptives, STI testing, cancer screenings and more.
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A bill that would improve health care access for Missouri women almost died in the House after some Republican lawmakers falsely conflated birth control with abortion medication. Now, GOP infighting in the Senate could derail it from becoming law.
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After recent losses in states like Kansas and Ohio, anti-abortion activists say they must take a more aggressive approach in Missouri, using a low-budget grassroots to stop an initiative petition from putting a constitutional right to an abortion in the hands of voters.