Governor Mike Parson signing House Bill 126
*Image taken from https://fox4kc.com/news/governor-mike-parson-signs-bill-criminalizing-abortion-after-8-weeks-in-missouri/
Planned Parenthood Missouri
Planned Parenthood has health centers located in many parts of Missouri, including Columbia, Florissant, Gladstone, Independence, Joplin, Kansas City, Manchester, three in Saint Louis, Saint Peters, and Springfield.
Missouri has many bans making abortion illegal at practically every stage of pregnancy and Planned Parenthood is working to stop them. According to Planned Parenthood’s website, “the law also imposes a long list of medically unnecessary restrictions designed to shame people who choose to end their pregnancy.” The law makes Missouri “the most pro-life state in America.” Strict laws come with consequences. Mothers find different ways to abort their child. “Maternal mortality rates in Missouri are more than 50 percent higher than the national average, and a syphilis outbreak is sweeping the state.” Without Planned Parenthood’s full participation, women are finding dangerous ways to terminate their pregnancies on their own.
In Missouri, abortion bans themselves are not the only issue at hand. Discrimination also plays a key role when it comes to these abortion rights. “While some wealthy women may be able to find a way around abortion bans, far too many people — especially those who already face racism, homophobia, and transphobia — will be left with no options at all.” With the restriction of abortions, women find ways to go to extreme lengths for their right. Those that cannot afford these extreme lengths are forced to be excluded from this group, resulting in unintended discrimination. The restriction of abortion causes a domino effect of many other issues pertaining to women’s rights. Many states are undergoing anti-abortion laws fairly quickly. “State politicians, emboldened by the Trump-Pence administration, have passed a total of 26 abortion bans nationwide in 2019 alone.” A woman’s personal choice should not have such a noticeable importance to politicians. The children of America should be wanted by their mothers, and born into loving, stable families.
According to Planned Parenthood, in 2019, a US District Court judge blocked several of Missouri’s abortion bans. The abortion bans would have made abortion illegal at 8 weeks. Planned Parenthood states, “This lawsuit challenges a law that created an unprecedented number of bans at once, at nearly every stage of pregnancy, which is part of a multi-layered effort by state politicians to push abortion out of reach for 1.1 million Missourians of reproductive age.” Missouri became one of the 8 states that look into patient’s personal lives to determine whether they should have an abortion or not.
In May 2019, Governor Mike Parson signed House Bill 126. This bill applied restrictions and bans on abortion, making it nearly impossible for any woman of reproductive age to receive one. Planned Parenthood took this matter to court, because Missouri was only left with one abortion-capable clinic in the state. Rewire News states, “Any person who violates this provision would be guilty of a class B felony and may lose their professional license.” The bill would ban abortion at 8 weeks, and if declared unconstitutional, would ban abortion at 14 weeks. If 14 weeks was declared unconstitutional they would strive for 18 weeks, then 20 weeks. Under the selective abortion ban, “The bill prohibits any person from performing or inducing an abortion if they know that the pregnant person is seeking the abortion solely due to a prenatal diagnosis, test, or screening indicating Down syndrome or the potential of Down syndrome in a fetus. The bill also prohibits any person from performing or inducing an abortion on a pregnant person if the individual knows that the pregnant person is seeking the abortion solely because of the sex or race of the fetus.” The bill states that no pregnancy is to be terminated as a result of discrimination towards to fetus. The bill covers that if an abortion is to be performed on a minor, the parents must be alerted before the abortion goes through. This bill has currently not passed and is still being considered, partially blocked.
Another House Bill, House Bill 339, was proposed in January of 2019. Rewire News claims that this bill would “prohibit a person from performing or inducing an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless it is necessary to prevent serious health risk to the pregnant patient.” Twenty-two weeks is typically the age in which a fetus is capable of feeling pain. If a physician were to perform an abortion, they would need to report the gestational age and the method of abortion. This bill did not pass. The current abortion methods supplied by Planned Parenthood in Saint Louis, Missouri include an abortion pill, an in-clinic abortion, sedation options, and vasectomies for birth control. They have pre- and post-abortion education services and post-abortion check ups. Their website states that “abortion is legal in Missouri up to 22 weeks from a woman’s last menstrual period. After this point abortion is against the law unless the woman’s life or health is threatened.” Every woman must have informed consent at least 72 hours before the abortion is performed.
By Elizabeth Sherlock
Planned Parenthood Missouri 