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Monthly Monitor: June 2017

June 30, 2017 min read

By Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri

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MoLeg Special Session Update

Less than a month after regular session adjourned, Gov. Eric Greitens on June 7 forced lawmakers to return to Jefferson City for an extreme, unnecessary, $20,000-per-day special session to restrict Missourians’ reproductive health and rights.The governor called for restrictions targeting abortion providers, and demanded legislators override a St. Louis City law that protects people from being fired or discriminated against for getting pregnant, using contraception, having an abortion, or any other reproductive health decision.

Physicians, legal experts, and advocates voiced opposition to proposals in testimony before House and Senate committees. Despite hours of testimony and hundreds of Missourians protesting at the People’s Session, the Senate passed Senate Bill 5. The following week, the Missouri House passed an even more extreme version of SB 5. In order to pass any bill to the governor, the House and Senate must both pass the same bill. Legislators are not expected to return to the Capitol until the second or third week of July. 

Though there are several components of the bill, one thing is clear: SB 5 would make it more difficult for a woman to access safe, legal abortion in Missouri. We need to keep up the pressure on Gov. Greitens and his fellow anti-reproductive health politicians. Act now - call your elected officials at 573-880-4600 and tell them to stop playing politics with women’s health!

 

Expanding Abortion Access in Missouri - Update

In May, a federal judge blocked two of Missouri’s medically unnecessary abortion restrictions. Judge Sachs’ followed the reasoning of last summer’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, in ruling that the laws do not improve health outcomes and are unconstitutional.

This ruling means that Planned Parenthood will be able to expand access and provide abortion at four additional health centers. License applications for all four locations — Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ Columbia and Midtown Kansas City Health Centers, and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri’s Joplin and Springfield Health Centers — have been submitted and await approval from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

 

PPGP Leadership Transition: We Congratulate President and CEO Laura McQuade On Her Next Adventure

Jackie Johnson, Chair of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP), announced last month that PPGP President and CEO Laura McQuade will step into a new role as President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) in September.

McQuade said, “It has been my honor to represent Planned Parenthood in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. It has been a privilege to serve PPGP’s patients and to have been supported in that work by the best Board, staff, donors, and volunteers that any CEO could want. Representing Planned Parenthood is not a career but a calling, and I will always carry PPGP and our supporters with me as I continue to advocate for the sexual and reproductive health and rights we all deserve.”

PPGP’s Chief Operating Officer, Aaron Samulcek, will lead the organization as the Interim President and CEO while the Board of Directors conducts an extensive national search to identify PPGP’s next leader.

 

Stand With Planned Parenthood in Your Community

Recap: People's Session

More than 200 reproductive rights supporters gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, July 14 for the first-ever People’s Session. They had a clear message for Gov. Greitens and his fellow politicians obsessed with restricting Missourians’ reproductive rights: Stop wasting tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars a day to promote an extreme agenda that will do more harm than good for Missourians.

 

Recap: #PinkOutTheNight

Missourians across the state on June 21 gathered to #PinkOutTheNight to rally for reproductive rights and against the U.S. Senate efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and block patients’ access to Planned Parenthood, and the Missouri Legislature’s unnecessary special session aimed at restricting access to safe, legal abortion. Supporters in Columbia, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis rallied to send a clear message to their elected officials in Jefferson City and Washington, DC: Stop playing politics with our health care!

Friday Phone Banks

Join the fight for access to health care on the state and federal levels! Join Planned Parenthood organizers and volunteers to make calls every Friday afternoon — you can participate in person or join remotely!

Democracy Reform Campaign - Signature Gathering

Planned Parenthood is a member of the Clean Missouri Coalition, an effort to reform our democracy by banning big lobbyist gifts, capping campaign contributions, and changing the way we unfairly draw district lines. This non-partisan initiative would revolutionize Missouri politics, putting power back in voters' hands! Join Planned Parenthood and our Clean Missouri coalition partners for a training session followed by team signature-gathering to put the issue on the November 2018 ballot!

Check Planned Parenthood’s national calendar to find events planned in your community!

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