Planned Parenthood Great Rivers

Abortion providers are bracing for an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion. If that happens, states would be able to ban the procedure. Hope Clinic and other providers in the southern Illinois are preparing to assist tens of thousands of new patients from across the country.

Abortion rights advocates in Missouri and Illinois are decrying a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark decision that legalized abortion. They say abortion providers in the Metro East will become safe havens for people in the Midwest and South, as abortion is expected to remain legal in Illinois.

Planned Parenthood leaders are warning supporters in St. Louis that access to abortion is at risk as state legislators seek tougher restrictions. The organization made its appeal Thursday during its annual luncheon.

Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott has donated $9 million to Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, the largest one-time donation the organization has ever received.

Republican state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman’s proposed amendments would make it a crime to transport someone to receive an abortion, help pay for the procedure or instruct the person on ways to end a pregnancy. Abortion rights advocates say the measures are part of a larger trend of lawmakers in conservative states using unconventional legal methods to outlaw abortions.

State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, has filed a bill that would ban abortions when doctors have determined that a fetus has cardiac activity, which can occur as early as six weeks. The bill, modeled on a Texas law, also would allow private citizens to sue doctors or others who aid abortion seekers if they disobey the law.

New rules require state inspectors to report violations directly to Medicaid auditors, which could jeopardize funding.

Abortion-rights advocates say the rules are an attempt by state lawmakers to curb access to Planned Parenthood, the state’s only abortion provider.

Texas patients are heading to Illinois following a law that bans abortions six weeks into pregnancy.

St. Louis abortion rights activists gathered outside the Old Courthouse to protest a restrictive abortion law passed last week in Texas, and to urge people to demand that Missouri lawmakers not pass similar legislation.