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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Despite Missourians voting to legalize abortion 10 months ago, Planned Parenthood remains unable to prescribe abortion medication — the most common kind of abortion — to patients. -
A proposed amendment written by Missouri Republican lawmakers would repeal the reproductive rights measure passed by voters last year — but makes no mention that it would ban abortion. The ACLU of Missouri argues the proposal violates the state constitution and misleads voters. -
The legislation, which state Rep. Jim Murphy called "a pro-life bill that everybody agrees with," also expands tax credits for maternity homes and diaper banks and creates a "Zero-Cost Adoption Fund." -
The reproductive health nonprofit Right By You contends that Missouri's parental consent law is unconstitutional under Amendment 3, the abortion rights measure passed by voters last year. It's also challenging Missouri’s ban on aiding or assisting a minor seeking an abortion. -
Hailey was 15 when she learned she was pregnant. After being told abortion wasn’t an option, she became determined to be a mom in the hopes of keeping her daughter from repeating the traumatic childhood in the foster care system that she experienced. -
The proposed amendment, if passed by the Senate and approved in a statewide election, would repeal the reproductive rights measure passed by voters in November. It would allow some exceptions in the first 12 weeks of gestation, but House Speaker Jon Patterson said that doesn't go far enough to protect assault victims. -
In Missouri, pregnant women can't get a divorce unless they have a custody agreement settled. "No matter how deep the pain, the law kept me legally bound to him," state Rep. Cecelie Williams said of her attempt to divorce her abusive husband while pregnant with their fourth child. -
Pregnancy resource centers have proven controversial around the country, accused of providing women with inaccurate medical information in an effort to discourage them from seeking abortions. -
Law experts say the Republican bill could also open the door to lawsuits against anyone who assists someone in obtaining a “self-managed” abortion — no matter how early in the pregnancy. It's one of the first bills attempting to chip away at Missouri's abortion-rights amendment. -
Lawmakers and anti-abortion activists gathered at Planned Parenthood clinics around Missouri just days after abortion services returned. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman vowed that "there will be another option to vote" on abortion.
