Monday Monitor: April 8, 2019

#StopTheBans Coalition Launches the Repro Week of Action!

The new #StopTheBans Coalition is kicking off its “Repro Week of Action” today. The weeklong series of events will bring Missourians together to fight back against political attacks on access to safe, legal abortion.

Formed in response to the Missouri House passing the nation’s most extreme abortion bill, #StopTheBans Coalition members include ACLU of Missouri, Gateway Women’s Access Fund, Hope Clinic for Women, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, National Council of Jewish Women - St. Louis, Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri, ProgressWomen, and Southwest Missouri NOW.

House Bill 126, and its Missouri Senate counterpart, Senate Bill 279, ban abortion as early as six weeks — which is before most women even know they are pregnant. Neither bill has an exception for rape or incest, which could jeopardize Missouri’s $7.2 billion in federal Medicaid funding.

To see all Repro Week of Action events and find ways to take action, visit the coalition website: StopTheBansMO.org.

#MoLeg Update: Defunding = Discrimination

The State Senate Appropriations Committee will hold hearings this week on next year’s budget. Two bills contain language that aims to “defund” Planned Parenthood by blocking Missourians from vital preventive care, like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment.

Let's be clear: “Defunding” is discrimination. It is singling out patients who rely on public health care programs like Medicaid and blocking them from getting their preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The House has sent the Senate a budget that has the discriminatory “defunding” language in it. Tell your state lawmakers to protect patients and oppose any measure that “defunds” Planned Parenthood!

Wednesday Night in Columbia: Chocolate for Choice

You’re invited to Chocolate for Choice in Columbia on Wednesday, April 10, to celebrate and support Planned Parenthood Great Plains! Visit with PPGP CEO Dr. Brandon Hill and Columbia health center staff to learn more about the programs and services your support makes possible in Columbia.

Together, we’ll have an evening of fun featuring heavy hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and CHOCOLATE with like-minded friends, old and new! All proceeds benefit PPGP’s Columbia health center.

• RSVP to Chocolate for Choice: 5:30 p.m. on Wed. April 10

Support Planned Parenthood Advocates of Mizzou!