Abortion

“The decision to leave these health centers might be one of the hardest I have yet to encounter in my career,” McNicholas wrote on social media Monday evening.

Margot Riphagen has been Planned Parenthood Great Rivers’ vice president of external affairs since April of last year. She was a leader in the coalition of abortion rights supporters that led to Amendment 3 passing in Missouri.

Chief Financial Officer Tonya Tucker will serve as interim CEO while the organization searches for a permanent replacement.

The Rolla City Council turned away a first effort to make the city the first in the state to declare itself a “Sanctuary City for the Unborn.”

Advocates for abortion rights cheered when voters approved Amendment 3, which enshrined the right to an abortion in the Missouri Constitution. But nearly two months after the ballot initiative passed, the procedure still isn’t available in the state.

Because some licensing restrictions are still on the books, Planned Parenthood providers said they cannot perform abortions even after an order lifted the state's overall abortion ban.

After Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November, enshrining the right to an abortion, Planned Parenthood sued to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law. A judge on Friday blocked some but not all of the restrictions.

Republican lawmakers have proposed a number of constitutional amendments that would overturn Amendment 3. Some include exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, a departure from the party’s recent stance on abortion.

Gov. Mike Parson is leaving office in January after more than six and a half years in the job.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan lamented his party’s lackluster 2024 election results on the latest episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.