Reproductive rights

The reproductive health nonprofit Right By You contends that Missouri's parental consent law is unconstitutional under Amendment 3, the abortion rights measure passed by voters last year. It's also challenging Missouri’s ban on aiding or assisting a minor seeking an abortion.

Alexis McGill Johnson says the passage of Amendment 3 in Missouri showed that the issue of abortion rights transcends party and gender lines. Despite the vote, Missouri Republicans are now attempting to put an abortion ban back on the statewide ballot.

The proposed amendment, if passed by the Senate and approved in a statewide election, would repeal the reproductive rights measure passed by voters in November. It would allow some exceptions in the first 12 weeks of gestation, but House Speaker Jon Patterson said that doesn't go far enough to protect assault victims.

The amendment, if passed by the Senate and then voters, would repeal the abortion rights amendment currently in Missouri's constitution, which voters just approved in November. Abortions would be illegal again in Missouri, with limited exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies.

Anti-abortion advocates are celebrating legislative wins after an expanded Republican supermajority in the Kansas Legislature overturned vetoes by the Democratic governor.

The Title X program was established in 1970 to provide reproductive health care for anyone who needs it. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri, which provide a wide range of cancer testing and contraceptive care, reported their funds were frozen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Planned Parenthood announced Friday that staff had begun offering surgical abortions in St. Louis, but the Missouri health department had rejected a plan that would allow doctors to dispense abortion medications — even though it was similar to what was approved before.

In Missouri, pregnant women can't get a divorce unless they have a custody agreement settled. "No matter how deep the pain, the law kept me legally bound to him," state Rep. Cecelie Williams said of her attempt to divorce her abusive husband while pregnant with their fourth child.

Abortions became available in Columbia once again this week. The procedure has been inaccessible to those living in mid-Missouri since the last abortion was performed at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic in 2018.

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.