Reproductive rights

Home births have been increasing in Missouri and Kansas. And "free birth," when a person gives birth without the help of a medical professional, has been popularized in recent years by influencers. Hear why experts are concerned, but women who have done it say the practice is misunderstood.

The latest effort to expand insurance coverage to include IVF costs for military families died this year after Senate Republicans, including Missouri’s Eric Schmitt, voted to remove it from a defense spending bill.

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.

Among the legislation signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is a wide-reaching public health bill that requires the state to track cases of Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome, and allows people to obtain up to 12 months of birth control pills at once.

This is the first time that Planned Parenthood's Gladstone clinic has ever offered medication abortion, after a judge struck down Missouri's restrictions on mifepristone. Officials said that appointments "filled quickly."

A Jackson County judge permanently struck down a slew of abortion restrictions, including a statute requiring what's known as a "complication plan" for medication abortions.

The November measure would essentially reinstate Missouri's abortion ban by repealing the reproductive rights amendment voters approved in 2024. It would also add a constitutional ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

If signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, the bill will allow anyone in Missouri who is prescribed oral contraceptives to pick up a 12-month supply at one time, beginning in 2027, rather than visiting the pharmacy every few months for refills.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 to let states decide how to manage abortion access. But Yvette Lindgren, a professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, says state bans aren’t resulting in fewer abortions.

The survey of Missourians ages 18 to 35 found widespread support for birth control, with 85% of those polled in favor of "access to all methods."

The activists who tried and failed to defeat Missouri's 2024 abortion-rights amendment have regrouped under a new PAC called“Her Health, Her Future." They're betting that more time, tighter coordination and earlier backing from top Missouri Republicans can help them pass an abortion ban measure this fall.

Labor, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and faith groups in Missouri are testing a shared message against what they see as a growing list of threats from Republican lawmakers — including a plan to eliminate the state income tax and expand sales taxes on goods and services.