Abortions Resume in Missouri as GOP Lawmakers Strategize Possible Repeal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Abortions resumed in Missouri over the weekend following a ruling blocking regulations that clinics said made it impossible to provide abortions despite a new constitutional amendment for reproductive rights, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Emily Wales, the president and CEO of a Kansas City Planned Parenthood clinic, said on Saturday they “provided the first abortion in Missouri since Dobbs, a truly historic moment for our affiliate.”
“For more than 50 years, we have served patients at our midtown Kansas City clinic, and we are honored to once again provide the comprehensive care Missourians need,” Wales said in a statement. “We will share more details on appointment opportunities in the coming weeks.”
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers is also opening appointment availability this week at the St. Louis clinic.
Abortions are once again available in Missouri thanks to a Friday court ruling temporarily lifting some regulations on providers while a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood plays out.
Missouri almost immediately enacted a near-total ban on abortions in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortions were only allowed in the state for medical emergencies. There were no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Abortion-rights advocates in response went to voters, who in November enshrined reproductive rights in the state constitution. Judges still must weigh whether to strike down Missouri’s many bans and other restrictions on abortion, which is playing out in court now.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang said in her Friday ruling that Planned Parenthood likely would succeed in its lawsuit against Missouri abortion laws.
Despite public support, GOP lawmakers have repeatedly pledged to go back to voters with another proposal to further limit abortions, although Republicans have not yet agreed on how far to go with more possible restrictions.
“Missourians deserve to be presented with better options at the ballot box — options that are more in line with their values,” Republican state Sen. Adam Schnelting told reporters Tuesday. “And my hope is that as we get further on in the legislative session, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
So far, Republican lawmakers have proposed constitutional amendments that would outlaw abortion completely, only allow it in cases of medical emergencies, ban most abortions once cardiac activity is detected, or ban it after fetal viability.
The term “viability” is used by health care providers to describe whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally or whether a fetus might survive outside the uterus. Though there is no defined time frame, doctors say it is sometime after the 21st week of pregnancy.
A Missouri House panel on Tuesday also mulled a program to keep a registry of pregnant women deemed “at risk” of getting an abortion and offer them adoption resources, although the bill author quickly backtracked and promised to amend the legislation following bipartisan pushback.
“I don’t like data mining anyway,” Republican Chair Rep. Holly Jones told the sponsor during a House Children and Families Committee hearing. “I’m not 100% sure that that’s what this does. But I think that the committee is going have a lot of questions for you.”
Ballentine reported on this story from Columbia, Missouri. Writer David A. Lieb contributed from Jefferson City, Missouri.
