MoLeg Update: Negatives and Positives
Lawmakers continued last week to advance measures to undermine Missourians’ health and wellbeing. Both the House and Senate scheduled hearings for tomorrow and Wednesday on bills imposing more restrictions on access to safe, legal abortion. See our Bill Summary for information on each bill we are tracking.
On the bright side, bills to modernize Missouri’s HIV-specific criminal statutes are moving forward. Current state law criminalizes people living with HIV who “recklessly” expose another to HIV, regardless of whether the contact poses a significant risk of transmission. These laws, written in the 1980s from a place of stigma and fear, can often result in increased levels of HIV transmission. House Bills 166 and 167 would update our laws to reflect advances in medical science and encourage harm reduction approaches instead of incarceration.
You can talk to lawmakers in person at Planned Parenthood Advocates’ lobby days in Jefferson City. Mark your calendar and plan to join us: February 20, March 26, and May 8.
St. Louis Legislative Preview & Action Council Training
Join Planned Parenthood Advocates this Saturday and learn what to expect this legislative session. We’ll talk through key legislation and create plans to hold lawmakers accountable. Don't miss this opportunity to take action with neighbors who care about reproductive health and rights!
Title X “Gag Rule” Expected Any Day Now
The president announced the gag rule last spring, and we have been fighting it ever since. The proposed rule would dismantle Title X, the one program meant to ensure people with low incomes can access birth control, STD testing, cancer screenings, and other essential reproductive health care. The Title X program mostly serves people who couldn’t otherwise afford health care.
The gag rule would do three things:
- Add new restrictions designed to make it impossible for patients to access care at Planned Parenthood health centers through the Title X program.
- “Gag” health care providers in Title X by prohibiting them from telling their patients how and where they can access abortion safely and legally — even if that’s what the patient wants, and even if withholding that information threatens their health.
- Remove the Title X guarantee that patients get full and accurate information about their health care from their doctor.
Learn more about the “gag rule” and how you can help fight back! Health care is a human right, and we won't let this stand. Planned Parenthood's doors stay open — no matter what.
New PP Generation Action Chapter at Missouri State University
The new PP Generation Action group at Missouri State University in Springfield had a great turnout of energetic students at their meeting last week. This group may be new, but they are already united and ready to start building power on campus — like their Facebook page to see them in action!
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