Letter in Solidarity with Missouri
We the undersigned stand with the people of Missouri, and all across the country, whose health care and rights are at grave risk due to the reckless actions of politicians who oppose access to abortion care. We will fight with Planned Parenthood against this and every attack on the right to access abortion care and reproductive healthcare in this country.
Days after Governor Mike Parson signed one of the most restrictive bans on abortion in the country, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is weaponizing public health inspections by refusing to renew an abortion license over an inappropriate and suspicious request to interrogate doctors without explanation. Missouri is misusing the inspection process to block the state’s last remaining health center offering abortions from continuing to offer that care. If this happens, Missouri will be the first state in the nation to have no health center that provides abortion care, impacting more than a million Missourians.
This would be devastating, and it is absolutely wrong. Roe v. Wade guarantees the right to safe, legal abortion, but this right will be meaningless if the state’s actions make abortion inaccessible. Already people of color and those who are struggling to make ends meet face barriers to accessing good health care. Because of these restrictions, far too many people — especially those who already face racism, homophobia, and transphobia — will be left with no options at all.
This is not only an attack on Missourians, it is part of a coordinated plan by politicians opposed to safe and legal abortion to overturn Roe v. Wade and cut off all access to abortion nation-wide. In addition to Missouri, states including Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky and Mississippi have passed laws banning abortion. Some of these laws don’t include exceptions for rape or incest survivors. Others would put doctors in jail for offering their patients care. These laws are unconstitutional and they are absolutely wrong for America.
Planned Parenthood has been providing care to Missouri women and families for 87 years. We stand with them, their patients, and the people in Missouri and across the country who demand an end to these deeply harmful and illegal attacks.
Signed,
