Missouri Republicans already banned abortion. Now they’re targeting Planned Parenthood | Opinion
Missouri Republicans are trying to ban abortion twice over.
Sound silly? It kind of is. Abortion has been illegal in the state ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, of course. If women want or need to terminate a pregnancy, they’re either out of luck or have to head out of state, perhaps next door to Kansas where the procedure remains legal if increasingly regulated.
For now, though, you can’t get a legal abortion in the Show-Me State, except in emergencies.
But that’s not quite enough for Republicans in Jefferson City. They voted last week to block Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood and its health care clinics across the state.
Why? Abortion of course.
“This is not health care,” said state Rep. Mazzie Christensen of Bethany. “These facilities should not be in our state and I’m sick and tired of hearing about it.”
Except, of course, health care is exactly what Planned Parenthood provides in Missouri. The organization didn’t go away just because abortion was banned. It still does breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal and postpartum care, along with tests for sexually transmitted diseases. And it even dispenses birth control.
Pretty important stuff, if you need it.
But no abortions. They’re illegal except when there is a “medical emergency” — a distinction that health care professionals are not using as a loophole. Only 52 of these cases occurred in the state from June 2022 through 2023, and none of the procedures were performed at Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics, according to the nonprofit Missouri Independent. Which means Missouri Republicans are trying to cut off funds to an organization that can’t actually do what it’s being defunded for.
Assuming that Gov. Mike Parson signs off on the bill, that means Missouri will be the rare state that has — in essence — banned abortions twice. It’s a pretty nifty trick, if you think about it. And maybe a pretty great thing, perhaps, if you’re anti-abortion rights.
If you’re a woman who just wants to get a cancer screening in places like Joplin or Rolla, though, life is going to get a bit more difficult.
Attempts to thwart referendum petition
A different reading of the defunding effort, though, is that Missouri Republicans want to make sure that abortion stays banned once.
Pro-choice activists, after all, are working to get signatures for their petition to put the issue on the ballot for a statewide referendum. Since Roe fell, similar statewide votes around the country — even in deep-red states — have consistently favored those who want to preserve or restore abortion access.
Missouri would probably get the same result. Republicans in the General Assembly know this. That’s why they’ve spent the last few months trying to gut the referendum petition process. They don’t want Missouri voters — the folks who ostensibly hold democratic power in the state — to actually have a say in whether abortion is legal or illegal.
Defunding Planned Parenthood is more of the same. Even if Missouri voters do restore abortion’s legality, Republicans will have taken a step to ensure abortion access remains constrained. The new measure is simply a way of heading the voters off at the pass.
“Missouri,” said state Rep. Brian Seitz of Branson, “will continue to be a pro-life state.”
Even if Missourians choose otherwise. So much for democracy.
Of course, there’s a third way of reading the defunding effort — which is that Missouri Republicans aren’t just trying to crack down on abortion in Missouri. They’re working to undermine Planned Parenthood nationwide.
The new bill “very much does what we initially intended it to do,” said state Rep. Cody Smith, who sponsored the original legislation, “which is to defund abortion providers and their affiliates.”
The affiliates? In Missouri. The providers? Not in Missouri. Which suggests that Missouri Republicans are eager to cut back on abortion access beyond this state’s borders.
That’s not really their job, though, is it?
So let’s sum up: The bill that defunds Planned Parenthood is bad for women’s health in Missouri. It’s bad for voter power. And it’s a sneaky-but-real example of legislative overreach.
Banning abortion once was bad enough. Banning it twice over, it turns out, is even worse.
