abortion

Planned Parenthood clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis restarted procedural abortions in 2025. All four clinics, along with the Planned Parenthood in Gladstone, also offer medication abortion.

After landslide losses for Amendments 4 and 5, the governor is backing a high-stakes abortion measure this fall.

The Stop the Ban campaign has raised more than $6.5 million. The leading political action committee on the other side, called Her Health, Her Future PAC, has raised just over $1 million as of last week.

Johnson County judge Christopher Jayaram ruled the state’s abortion restrictions, including mandatory waiting periods, violated Kansans’ right to bodily autonomy and “infringe upon a woman’s fundamental rights.” The controversial case was made even more so by the timing of the decision.

Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have changed to electing state Supreme Court justices, in a win for groups that were concerned the change would impact abortion rights and school funding.

Because voters rejected Amendment 4, proposed state constitutional amendments brought by the public will still require a simple majority to pass once on the ballot.

Amendment 4 would require any constitutional amendment put on the ballot through the initiative petition process to pass in all eight congressional districts, rather than by a simple majority. Missouri voters in recent years have passed amendments like abortion rights and marijuana legalization that were opposed by Republican lawmakers.

If approved by Kansas voters in the Aug. 4 election, the constitutional amendment would abolish the current merit-based nominating process for Supreme Court justices that has been in place since 1958. While supporters argue the change would rid the system of elitism, opponents say it will allow money to influence court decisions.

A Planned Parenthood clinic in Springfield began providing medication abortion Monday while also expanding pain management for IUD placements and biopsies. It's the fifth clinic to begin offering the service after a June court decision struck down Missouri's restrictions.

Early voting is underway. The amendment appears on ballots statewide during the primary election and every voter can weigh in, regardless of political affiliation.

The Aug. 4 proposal would require citizen-led amendments to win in every congressional district, turning the ballot fight into a debate over who speaks for voters outside Missouri's big cities.