Restrictions

On June 24, 2022, Missouri began enforcing its trigger ban,^[1]Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.017(2); Immediate Efficacy of Section 188.017, RSMo, 22 Op. Att’y. Gen. 2022 (2022). which bans all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.^[2]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), rev’d Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019).

Missouri has not repealed other laws related to abortion. Missouri retains gestational bans at eight weeks LMP, a ban that is currently enjoined, and after viability.^[3]MO. REV. STAT. § 188.056(1); see Reprod. Health Servs. of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, Inc. v. Parson, 1 F.4th 552 (8th Cir. Jun. 9, 2021), reh’g en banc granted, opinion vacated … Continue reading Missouri law asserts that life begins at conception.^[4]MO. REV. STAT. § 188.026.2(1)-(2). See also id. §1.205, Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490, 505 (1989) (“the life of each human being begins at conception” and … Continue reading It also prohibits D&X procedures^[5]MO. REV. STAT. § 565.300.3. and abortions sought for reasons of sex, race, or Down syndrome although the reason ban is currently enjoined.^[6]Id. § 188.052(1); see Reprod. Health Servs., supra note 1 at 1 F.4th 552, 561 (8th Cir. Jun. 9, 2021). Missouri law continues to include requirements that pregnant people must undergo a mandatory seventy-two-hour waiting period, receive biased counseling, and be offered an ultrasound ^[7]MO. REV. STAT. § 188.027.; and prohibitions on public funding,^[8]Id. § 188.205. and private insurance.^[9]Id. § 376.805. It continues to require that both parents, a legal guardian,^[10]Id. § 188.028(1)(1). or a judge^[11]Id. § 188.028(1)(4). consent to a minor’s abortion. If a parent consents, that parent is required to notify the other parent.^[12]Id. § 188.028(1)(1).

Missouri retains targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws related to facilities,^[13]MO. REV. STAT. § 197.200 et seq. admitting privileges,^[14]Id. § 188.080. and reporting,^[15]Id. § 188.052. Missouri law continues to restrict the provision of abortion care to physicians^[16]Id. § 188.020. and restricts providers from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care.^[17]Id. § 188.021 Providers who violate Missouri’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[18]See, e.g., id. §§ 188.250(2), 188.030(3).

State Protections

Missouri law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion. To the contrary, Missouri’s policy preference is to ban abortion to the fullest extent of the law: “It is the intention of the general assembly of the state of Missouri to: (1) [d]efend the right to life of all humans, born and unborn; (2) [d]eclare that the state and all of its political subdivisions are a ‘sanctuary of life’ that protects pregnant women and their unborn children; and (3) [r]egulate abortion to the full extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States, decisions of the United States Supreme Court, and federal statutes.”^[19]MO. REV. STAT. § 188.010.

Post-Roe Prohibitions

In 2019, Missouri enacted a trigger ban.^[20]Id. § 188.017(4); Immediate Efficacy of Section 188.017, RSMo, 22 Op. Att’y. Gen. 2022 (2022).

Missouri repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1977. ^[21]MO. ANN. STAT. § 559.100 (Vernon 1969); 1977 Mo. Laws 658, 662-63.

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, Missouri has begun to enforce its trigger ban to prohibit abortion entirely.