Reproductive Rights

Gov. JB Pritzker signs bills safeguarding various reproductive rights for residents, visitors of Illinois.

Records from Missouri election authorities show that the campaigns to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution and increase the minimum wage have both turned in more than enough valid signatures.

Illinois Democrats passed measure last month that sought to codify federal law if it was stricken down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Missouri — which has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country — was the first state to ban almost all abortions 2 years ago, leaving thousands of residents seeking other ways to access the procedure.

A decision Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to the federal Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone doesn’t change the availability of the abortion-inducing medication for patients in Missouri and Illinois. But many say they expect other challenges to come soon.

It’s the latest move to expand access to abortion in Illinois as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to block access to mifepristone.

A new analysis shows that students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residencies across specialties in states with restrictions on abortion, such as Missouri and Kansas.

Ballot initiatives are one way for voters to assert their power over the political whims of Missouri's state legislature or courts. They are often viewed as more stable and harder to undo.

Two coalitions are hoping to put abortion on the 2024 ballot in Missouri, where virtually all abortions are illegal. Both groups face the same question: Is there enough time and money to get their proposed amendments off the ground?

The Missouri Secretary of State's language for reproductive rights ballot issues has been savaged by two courts, most recently when the Western District Court of Appeals unanimously ruled his summaries are “replete with politically partisan language."