Abortion

As of 8 a.m. Monday morning, abortions were once again available in Columbia. 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.

The group Coalition Life in 2023 sued the southern Illinois city to upend a measure prohibiting demonstrators and other groups from gathering 100 feet from medical facilities, including abortion providers.

Officials at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers are awaiting approval of what’s known as a complication plan before offering medication abortions again.

Speaker Jon Patterson said he expects the House to consider legislation clarifying divorce law as well as bills related to child care.

Temporary motions have put a hold on the state’s near-total abortion ban, but a trial will need to take place to overturn the ban permanently.

Republicans say that putting a new measure on the ballot to undo Amendment 3 is a priority for this legislative session.

A Kansas City judge on Friday ruled that licensing requirements that were keeping clinics from providing abortions were discriminatory. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers this week will begin offering its first abortion appointments in years.

The move comes months after Missourians voted to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution.

The resolution, if passed by voters, would remove the provisions that were in Amendment 3 and instead allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies or fetal anomalies.

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November 2024, enshrining the right to an abortion. The procedure still isn't available in the state, as a judge considers Planned Parenthood's lawsuit to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law.