abortion ban

Missouri lawmakers will consider dozens of health-related bills this session. Topics like insulin pricing, food labeling and mental health are top of mind, as well as efforts to reverse the abortion rights amendment passed by voters in November.

Republican lawmakers have proposed a number of constitutional amendments that would overturn Amendment 3. Some include exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, a departure from the party’s recent stance on abortion.

After Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November, enshrining the right to an abortion, Planned Parenthood sued to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law. A judge on Friday blocked some but not all of the restrictions.

Gov. Mike Parson is leaving office in January after more than six and a half years in the job. He spoke about his handling of the COVID pandemic, the abortion ban he signed into law, and his experience working with Republican supermajorities.

A Jackson County judge on Wednesday will hear Planned Parenthood’s attempt to overturn a number of Missouri laws regulating abortion. Meanwhile, several GOP legislators have already filed bills hoping to reinstate an abortion ban.

Dr. Betsy Wickstrom, a high-risk OB-GYN in Kansas City, is a Republican and a Christian but supported last month's abortion-rights amendment. She's concerned about what the future may hold with Missouri lawmakers threatening to overturn some of its protections.

The leader of Planned Parenthood Great Plains says the move is a ploy to prevent a Jackson County judge from potentially knocking down other abortion restrictions. Andrew Bailey says his office will continue to enforce laws requiring parental consent and outlawing coercion.

More than a dozen religious leaders had challenged Missouri's near-total abortion ban in 2023, on the grounds it contained explicitly religious language and violated the state constitution.

Missouri voters last week passed a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to an abortion. Emily Wales of Planned Parenthood Great Plains explains what abortion access could look like in the state, and what's next for the fight for reproductive rights.

Republican Mike Kehoe, who won the race for Missouri governor this week, acknowledged that some residents were uncomfortable with the state’s near-total abortion ban. He said that lawmakers are still discussing how they'll respond to the passage of Amendment 3.

When it goes into effect in December, Amendment 3 will protect abortion up to what’s known as fetal viability — which is about 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Missourians approved Amendment 3, which would place language in the state constitution legalizing abortion. Abortion rights proponents plan to file lawsuits to strike down the state’s near-total ban.