abortion ban

Planned Parenthood Great Plains began abortion care at a Kansas City clinic over the weekend. The clinic in St. Louis will start scheduling appointments this week.

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.

The move comes months after Missourians voted to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang previously struck down a number of “targeted regulation of abortion provider” statutes, but left state licensing requirements in place. Planned Parenthood argued the state licensing rules were an obstacle to providing abortions in Missouri.

The resolution, if passed by voters, would remove the provisions that were in Amendment 3 and instead allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies or fetal anomalies. It would also restrict transgender youth from accessing appropriate health care.

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November 2024, enshrining the right to an abortion. The procedure still isn't available in the state, as a judge considers Planned Parenthood's lawsuit to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law.

The constitutional amendment approved by Missouri voters protects abortion access until the point of fetal viability, when a fetus can survive on its own outside the womb without extraordinary medical interventions. But the phrase does not have a precise definition — or date.

Kansas Citians have a strong showing in leadership positions this legislative session —including Missouri's new House Speaker, Lee's Summit Republican Jonathan Patterson. It's the first time a Kansas City-area speaker was elected since 1857, which Patterson said is "very significant" for people in the region.

The start of the 2025 Kansas legislative session brings renewed efforts to restrict access to abortion in a state that voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights.

For the first time since 2018, Missouri lawmakers will work with a new governor. While outgoing Gov. Mike Parson pushed a more budget-focused agenda, Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe already has established policy goals — and a Republican supermajority to accomplish them with.

Advocates for abortion rights cheered when voters approved Amendment 3, which enshrined the right to an abortion in the Missouri Constitution. But nearly two months after the ballot initiative passed, the procedure still isn’t available in the state.

Because some of Missouri's licensing restrictions are still on the books, Planned Parenthood providers said they cannot perform abortions even after an order lifted the state's overall abortion ban.