Abortion pills distributed in Missouri for first time in 8 years

The abortion pill is available in Missouri again, for the first time since 2018, due to a judge's decision to overturn multiple state laws protecting preborn children.

Key Takeaways:

• In June, Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang overturned multiple Missouri laws protecting preborn children.

• This included a restriction on abortion pills, which included a requirement that a woman take the abortion pill in front of a physician.

• Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities began dispensing abortion pills just days later.

The Backstory:

In 2024, Missourians voted in favor of Amendment 3, which made abortion a constitutional "right" in the state. What has resulted since then is an eradication of some of the most commonsense provisions to protect women and restrict the killing of preborn children in the state.

Planned Parenthood sued to overturn 30 restrictions on abortion, and in June, Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang sided with the abortion corporation.

Zhang declared numerous restrictions to be unconstitutional, including waiting periods, requiring abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges, informed consent requirements, and more. Zhang specifically overturned the requirement that the abortion pill be taken in the presence of a physician, though she upheld a requirement for women to meet a physician in person before receiving the abortion pill.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway slammed the ruling in a statement, saying:

My heart is broken by today’s ruling. This is exactly the Pandora’s box we warned of, and the women of Missouri will pay the price.

This radical decision gives abortion providers a free pass to police themselves.

Women are no longer entitled to the same level of care in an abortion clinic that they would receive in other healthcare settings: providers are no longer required to maintain complication plans or insurance, and the state cannot even conduct basic health and safety inspections to ensure patient safety.

The Details:

Local news outlets reported that Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities began dispensing abortion pills in late June. It's the first time chemical abortions have been officially allowed in Missouri since 2018.

"We've had procedural abortion restored for over a year now after the 2024 right to reproductive freedom went into effect," Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, told KSHB. "We recently rolled out medication abortion at our Gladstone location, which is the first time in decades that a facility that hadn't previously had abortion can help with these services."

Planned Parenthood Great Plains began committing chemical abortions on July 1. “We expect the demand to remain really high,” Wales said.

Dr. Margaret Baum, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, likewise told the Missouri Independent that she began dispensing abortion pills on June 22nd.

Sam Lee, a pro-life activist, told the Kansas City Star that this does not bode well for women or preborn children in the state. “Medication abortions are much more prevalent than surgical abortions," Lee said. "We anticipate there’s a lot more abortions being performed in Missouri than there were before."

The Bottom Line:

Hanaway said she plans to appeal Zhang's ruling, but in the meantime, countless preborn children will be killed by chemical abortions.