House to Debate Abortion Bans This Week
The Missouri House is set to debate not one, but two bills that would ban abortion. House Bills 339 and 680, which have been combined into a single bill, would ban abortion later in pregnancy, even when there is a severe fetal diagnosis or a serious risk to the woman’s health.
House Bill 126 goes even further to ban abortion as early as six weeks — which is before many people even know they are pregnant.
These bills are the latest example of legislators interfering in the doctor-patient relationship and replacing doctors’ medical expertise with political ideology. They are part of a larger agenda to ban abortion altogether. The decision to end a pregnancy is deeply personal and can be complex. A pregnant person makes that decision in consultation with their family, their doctor, and their faith — not politicians. Take action: contact your state representatives and tell them to vote no on these bills and #StopTheBans!
MoLeg Recap: House Committee hears TRAP law and Healthy Mothers Initiative
Last week, the House Children and Families Committee held a hearing on two bills we are tracking. House Bill 540 is a targeted restriction of abortion providers (TRAP) law designed to impose Missouri’s medically unnecessary restrictions beyond our state lines. HB 540 requires any entity that merely refers a person for an abortion outside of Missouri to submit an invasive, government-mandated checklist to the state. This bill will do nothing to improve patient health or safety, and we testified against it.
The hearing ended on a positive note with House Bill 664, which takes a step toward improving maternal health by establishing the Healthy Mothers Initiative in the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Every Missourian should be able to have a safe and healthy pregnancy, but our state’s maternal mortality rate is rising. We support this measure and encourage lawmakers to prioritize policies that improve maternal health instead of continuing to obsess over restricting access to safe, legal abortion.
St. Louis: Take Action to Defend Clean Missouri
In November, Missourians voted overwhelmingly for democracy reform by passing Amendment 1 with more than 60% of the vote. But lawmakers are already planning to overturn it. Join the Clean Missouri defense phone bank every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. We’ll meet at the Deaconess Center, 1000 N Vandeventer Ave, St. Louis, 63108.
- Sign up for the Clean Missouri Defense Phone Bank: 6:00 p.m. every Wednesday
Recap: PP Generation Action Lobby Day
Planned Parenthood supporters, including 19 students from the Planned Parenthood Generation Action chapters at Harris-Stowe State University, Mizzou, and Missouri State, traveled to Jefferson City last Wednesday for Generation Action Lobby Day. They jumped right in and met with 28 legislators or their staff in just a few hours. These constituent-lobbyists thanked lawmakers who support Planned Parenthood and asked them to:
- Oppose SB 259, which weakens Title IX’s protections for students who have been sexually harassed or assaulted.
- Oppose budget language that would discriminate against Planned Parenthood patients.
- Support HB 741, which lowers the tax on period products and diapers.
We have two more Planned Parenthood Lobby Days scheduled for this year. Mark your calendars and plan to join us on March 26 and May 8!
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