JEFFERSON CITY — The battle over abortion rights continues in Missouri, over four months after voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing abortions in the state.
The House Committee on Children and Families approved House Joint Resolution 54 11-5 on Monday. The bill would put a near-total ban on abortion except for cases of medical emergencies, rape and incest, on the November 2026 ballot for voters to approve.
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Melanie Stinnett, R-Springfield, said the bill does not undo the decision voters made in the November 2024 election, but rather subjects the issue to another vote by Missourians.
"It is important to understand the full process of a house joint resolution," Stinnett said. "If passed through our legislative process, the language of this HJR will be presented for a vote of the people in Missouri by being placed on the ballot."
However, those in opposition still say that the bill does not follow the wishes of voters.
"There are a lot of factors that contribute to a situation that can result in a pregnancy being non-viable," state Rep. Pattie Mansur, D-Kansas City, said in opposition to the bill. "Most of the people that I have encountered both in my campaigning and since I have come to Jefferson City do not want legislators setting the confines for the factors they need to consider in consultation with their doctor."
Republicans argue that the language of Amendment 3 was vague and misled Missouri voters to support the legalization of abortion services. Since the amendment passed 52%-48%, it has been subject to scrutiny by legislators and the governor's office.
Future of medication abortion uncertain with new requirements
Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri remain unable to offer medication abortion services after the state rejected their complication plans last week.
Missouri law requires clinics to have a Department of Health and Human Services-approved plan in case of complications before providing medication abortions.
The law does not stop clinics from providing procedural abortions. The Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic began providing procedural abortions at the beginning of March after a Kansas City-area judge granted a temporary block on a licensing requirement for outpatient abortion providers.
Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which own and operate the clinics in Columbia and St. Louis, respectively, filed a motion Friday asking a Jackson County judge to block two requirements regarding complication plans.
The motion asks the judge to block the statute requiring complication plans to perform medication abortions. It also asks the judge to block an emergency rule from the DHSS adding restrictions regarding complication plans.
The DHSS issued the rule on March 13, and the rule went into effect March 27 — the same day Planned Parenthood said the DHSS rejected its complication plans for its Columbia and St. Louis clinics.
The DHSS cited the emergency rule in its rejection of the complication plans, Planned Parenthood said.
Planned Parenthood has maintained that DHSS took weeks to approve its clinics complication plans. Planned Parenthood said it submitted complication plans in February after the Jackson County judge blocked the licensing restriction.
Planned Parenthood said the restrictions imposed in the emergency rule are medically unnecessary.
“At every stage in restoring abortion access in Missouri, state politicians have refused to play by the rules: crafting inaccurate ballot language, attempting to block a vote, and now undermining implementation in direct contradiction of a court order," Emily Wales, the Planned Parenthood Great Plains CEO, said in a statement. "I’ll say this: When it comes to trampling on Missourians’ rights, they sure are consistent. Missourians have demanded reproductive freedom, including access to medication abortion, and we won’t stand by while state agencies manipulate the system in bad faith.”
The new emergency rule requires abortion providers to obtain a type of insurance specific to medication abortions. Planned Parenthood said this type of insurance is not available on the general market and that neither Planned Parenthood Great Plains nor Great Rivers has been able to find an insurance provider that offers the type of coverage to meet the new requirement.
