Roe v. Wade

The overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision just months ahead of its 50th anniversary has prompted many abortion providers — including in Kansas — to shift how they serve patients.

Leaders from 13 different religious organizations have joined a lawsuit filed by the National Women's Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State challenging Missouri’s abortion laws. Two leaders from Kansas City say the trigger ban and other restrictions violate their congregations' religious freedom.

The National Women’s Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court on behalf of 13 faith leaders in Missouri. The lawsuit claims Missouri’s so-called trigger ban and other laws restricting abortion access violate residents’ religious freedom.

While abortion was almost completely banned in Missouri after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, several Republican lawmakers are already working to further restrict access to reproductive health care.

The Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis used to provide abortions, but recently, the health center hosted a free vasectomy clinic at three different locations around Missouri over three days.

Since the end of the 2022 election cycle, there’s been increased talk from proponents and opponents of abortion rights about putting a constitutional amendment about the issue on the 2024 ballot. But a proposal from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft would raise the bar for passing those amendments to 60%.

A Kansas judge has blocked a law banning doctors from prescribing abortion-inducing pills over telemedicine. Abortion providers say that’ll help expand access in rural Kansas, but the legal fight isn’t over.

Missouri's abortion ban contains only one exception, not for rape or incest, but for "medical emergencies." But the law is vague on what that means — and that's a problem for hospitals, since performing an abortion could carry a felony and prison time. It's also a problem for patients in critical need of care.

A Missouri woman who was denied an abortion prompted an unprecedented federal investigation into whether a hospital violated the law by failing to provide her medical care.

A Joplin hospital is apparently the first in the nation to be investigated for possibly violating federal law by telling a woman experiencing an emergency that she needed to terminate her pregnancy to protect her health, but that the abortion could not take place in Missouri.

Kansas is one of a few states in its region where abortion is legal. Planned Parenthood Great Plains is struggling to keep up with demand as patients travel from as far as Texas and Louisiana to receive care.

The mobile clinic will be part of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, and will provide medication abortions up to 11 weeks gestation. It’s expected to launch later this year.