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1. What are the recent changes to abortion access?

On June 24, the 2022 Supreme Court reversed the 1973 Supreme Court decision on Roe vs. Wade, which said that states can’t ban abortion if a fetus could not survive outside the womb.

Minutes later, Missouri’s attorney general, Eric Schmitt, signed the state’s “trigger ban” law*.

Missouri now bans all abortions, unless the life or health of a pregnant person is in danger. The law targets abortion providers by making it a class B felony to induce an abortion. Clinics or health providers prosecuted under the law could also lose their medical licenses. 

*What is a trigger law? A trigger law is a law that goes into effect when a specific event or condition occurs.

2. Are there any changes in accessing birth control, Plan B or IVF?

Missouri's trigger ban is not clear when it comes to these family planning measures. However, it seems that all of these remain available and legal in Missouri.

In a tweet at 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Missouri law does not ban birth control, even after Roe was overturned.

Additionally, the spokesperson for Missouri's Attorney General said: “Missouri law does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B, or contraception."

3. Is there a plan to take away Plan B?

Plan B — sometimes called the morning-after pill or emergency contraception —isn’t immediately affected by the state’s trigger law.

It’s used after unprotected sex or if birth control fails. Plan B keeps a woman from releasing an egg, keeps an egg from being fertilized or keeps a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.

Emergency contraception is still available at pharmacies in Missouri. You may have heard that Saint Luke’s Hospital group briefly stopped providing Plan B due to potential legal risk. The hospital system later reversed its decision.

4. Can pharmacies refuse to give me a medication?

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recently sent guidance to the nation’s retail pharmacies, reminding them of their role in ensuring access to reproductive health care services under federal civil rights laws.

Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Section 1557), 42 U.S.C. 18116, recipients of federal financial assistance cannot exclude an individual from participation in, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination based on sex and other bases (i.e., race, color, national origin, age, and disability) in their programs and activities. Under federal civil rights law, pregnancy discrimination includes discrimination based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth.

5. What kind of medical care is available in emergencies?

On July 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued clarifying guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). This reaffirmed that it protects providers when offering legally-mandated, life- or health-saving abortion services in emergency situations.

Emergency medical conditions involving pregnant patients may include, but are not limited to, ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features.

6. Will I be arrested if I go to another state for an abortion?

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, says no, states cannot forbid travel.

When he wrote the concurring opinion, he said that a state cannot stop its residents from traveling to another state to obtain an abortion because people have a constitutional right to interstate travel.

7. Local Policy

For the city of Kansas City, Missouri

On Thursday, June 30, 2022 the city council of Kansas City passed two resolutions:

• Resolution 220575: Declaring reproductive rights are fundamental human rights and criminalizing access to reproductive rights is a form of discrimination against women, girls and others who can become pregnant.
• Resolution 220575: This resolution was presented by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and passed by the City Council. It instructs City Manager Brian Platt to negotiate with healthcare insurance providers so City employees receive financial help and reimbursement when they seek out-of-state health care (including abortion procedures.)

City employees would be offered a new insurance enrollment period to change their healthcare plans to include this coverage. The resolution states that reimbursement funds will not come from taxpayer dollars or the city’s general fund. Mayor Quinton Lucas later stated coverage would provide $300 for travel expenses. The money will not cover the procedure itself.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt says he will sue Kansas City. Mayor Lucas’ response/statement: "We will proudly and unabashedly stand up for the rights of Missouri women and Missouri families in their healthcare decisions. Kansas City's lawful resolutions are but one step in doing so."

8. Resources

Helpful Websites

• ReproductiveRights.gov – Learn more about your right to access birth control, medication, abortion services, other preventative health services. You can also file a complaint with HHS if you believe that you or another person’s civil rights or health information privacy rights have been violated.
• TheRightTime.org – A website from the Missouri Family Health Council, Inc. and Missouri Foundation for Health where you can learn about your birth control options and find local health centers.
• Reproductive Health Access Project – This organization mobilizes, trains, and supports clinicians to make sexual and reproductive health care accessible to everyone. Their focus is on abortion, contraception and miscarriage.

Local Health Care - Pregnancy, Contraception & Plan B Resources

Planned Parenthood

Northland Center
2900 NE 60th St, Suite 100
816-453-6000

Patty Brous Health Center of Kansas City
1001 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd. 
Kansas City, MO 64110
816-756-2277

Independence Health Center
815 N Noland Road
Independence, MO 64050
816-252-3800

Sam Rodgers Women's Health

Clay County
800 Haines Drive, Liberty, MO 64068
816-413-0662 | Appointment Line: 816-474-4920 

Northland
5330 North Oak Trfy, Suite 203, Kansas City, MO 64118
816-499-8100 | Appointment Line: 816-474-4920

Downtown
825 Euclid Ave., Kansas City, MO 64124
816-474-4920

Westside
2121 Summit St, Kansas City, MO 64108 
816-471-0900 | Appointment Line: 816-474-4920

KC Care

Midtown
3515 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111

Northeast
4601 Independence Ave., Kansas City, MO 64124

Homeroom Health
Serving infants, children, teens and young adults
30th & Troost in The Wonder Shops & Flats
1106 E. 30th St - Suite B, Kansas City, MO 64109

Research Medical Campus
2340 E. Meyer Boulevard, (Bld 1) Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64132

Swope Health Services

Swope Health Maple Woods
Northland Human Services Building
3100 NE 83rd Street, Suite 1001, #140
Kansas City, MO 64119
816-321-3230

Swope Health Northland
2906 NW Vivion Road, Riverside, MO 64150
816-599-5050

Swope Health Central
3801 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Kansas City, MO  64130
816-923-5800

Swope Health Hickman Mills
Loma Vista Office Building
8800 Blue Ridge Blvd., 2nd Fl., Kansas City, MO  64138
816-321-3201

Swope Health Belton
204 E. North Ave., Belton, MO 64012
816-599-5170

Swope Health East
17844 E. 23rd St, Independence, MO 64057
816-599-5015

Swope Health Independence
11320 E. Truman Road, Independence, MO 64050
816-599-5200

Swope Health West
4835 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102
913-321-2200

Swope Health Wyandotte
21 N. 12th St., Suite 400, Kansas City, KS 66102
 816-599-5111

Truman University Health

2211 Charlotte St., Kansas City, MO 64108
816-404-4966

Children's Mercy Northland - Teen Clinic

501 N.W. Barry Road, Kansas City, MO 64155 

Liberty Women's Clinic

1532 NE 96th St, Suite B, Liberty, MO 64068 | Call: 816-415-9415 | Text: 816-866-3939

Get help if you are facing an unwanted pregnancy

The two closest health clinics that provide abortion procedures are both in Overland Park, Kansas.

Planned Parenthood Clinic
4401 W. 109th St., #100, Overland Park, KS 66211
913-345-1400

Center for Women’s Health
4840 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS 66211
913-491-6878