reproductive health

Officials at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers are awaiting approval of what’s known as a complication plan before offering medication abortions again.

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.

Appointments at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia are not yet available due to doctors’ schedules, but will be in the “next few weeks.” Patients in mid-Missouri have long had to travel long distances to obtain abortion care.

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.

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.

Missourians voted for both President Donald Trump and to restore abortion access in November's election. In his first term, the Trump administration appointed Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, slashed Title X funding, and defunded health care clinics.

A proposal by Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman would outlaw the use of restraints on pregnant women in the third trimester, during labor and for the first 48 hours postpartum “except in extraordinary circumstances.” Missouri banned the practice in state prisons in 2018.

A Kansas City judge temporarily lifted Missouri's abortion ban in December. However, she left licensing restrictions on the books, which means it's impossible for Planned Parenthood Great Plains to resume performing the procedure yet.

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.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is moving to take away Immanuel Birth Co.’s license because they allegedly violated state health regulations. That would eliminate one of the few non-hospital birthing facilities in eastern Kansas.