This morning, the United States Supreme Court announced it will hear a case about Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Like Missouri, Mississippi has one abortion provider left in the state — Missouri is one of five states in the country with only one abortion clinic. This Supreme Court case means Roe v. Wade could soon be overturned.
Yamelsie Rodríguez, President and CEO, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region:
“Missourians have long felt this looming reality — the right to access abortion hanging on by a thread, and in states like Missouri and Mississippi, by one lone abortion clinic. That thread could soon unravel with the Supreme Court taking up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
“We stand in solidarity with our partners at the Center for Reproductive Rights and Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s last standing abortion clinic, as they head to the Supreme Court. This is the moment we’ve long warned — our rights and freedoms to control our bodies, lives, and future are on the line.”
Across the country, 25 million women of reproductive age live in a state where they could lose abortion access if Roe is overturned. In Missouri, Roe has nearly become meaningless as many people — disproportionately people with low incomes, people of color, and people in rural communities — already cannot access abortion because of countless medically unnecessary restrictions. This Supreme Court case could be the final straw.