Missouri Governor Signs Law Defunding Planned Parenthood, Other Abortion Providers

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signs a bill banning most abortions in Jefferson City, Mo., on May 24, 2019. Summer Balentine/AP Photo

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson ended all public funding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in his state with a stroke of his pen on May 9.

“Our administration has been the strongest pro-life administration in Missouri history,” he said after signing House Bill 2634 into law. “We’ve ended all elective abortions in this state, approved new support for mothers, expecting mothers, and children, and, with this bill, ensured that we are not sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers for any purpose.”

The law, which passed the state’s GOP-led Legislature in April, represents state lawmakers’ latest move to end Medicaid reimbursements and other funding for abortion providers after courts struck down their prior attempts.

In February, the state Supreme Court held that lawmakers’ 2022 attempt to use the budget to strip abortion providers of Medicaid funds was unconstitutional. The court also struck down a similar attempt in 2020.

The latest law takes the new approach of using a policy bill to enact the change in hopes of sidestepping another legal fight.

Planned Parenthood said Thursday that the impact of the new law will be that other Medicaid providers in the state will be overwhelmed.

“‘Defunding’ Planned Parenthood risks the sustainability of the state’s entire health care system and the health of all Missourians who rely on it,” the organization’s Missouri clinics said in a joint statement. “We remain committed to fighting for the rights of all Missourians to access the care they need and deserve. We will do everything we can to continue serving our patients in Missouri and beyond with quality, compassionate, live-saving health care.”

Abortion Amendment

Nearly all abortions have been outlawed in Missouri since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade. The ruling triggered enforcement of a ban on the procedure in all cases except medical emergencies, but a proposed constitutional amendment would erase those restrictions.

If passed by voters in November, the amendment would establish a “right to reproductive freedom” in Missouri, prohibiting regulation of abortion up until fetal viability, as determined by a “treating health care professional,” and in other cases where that professional deems it necessary to preserve the mother’s physical or mental health.

The measure also bars the prosecution of anyone who assists a woman in obtaining an abortion and does not include a carve-out to allow the requirement of parental consent or notification for minors seeking abortions.

To appear on Missouri’s general election ballot, petitioners needed to collect 171,000 signatures by May 5. Campaign organizers said they turned in more than 380,000.

Several such initiatives—with nearly identical language—are currently being promoted across the country as abortion proponents seek to expand access to the procedure in their states. In various states, the propositions have sparked opposition campaigns, which have criticized the amendments as deceptive and overly permissive.

Lawsuit Filed

Missouri’s defunding of abortion providers comes months after Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued Planned Parenthood Great Plains for allegedly trafficking minors across state lines to obtain abortions without parental consent.

A 2023 undercover investigation conducted by Project Veritas recorded Planned Parenthood Great Plains staff admitting to arranging travel for minors so that they could obtain abortions in Kansas, where the laws are more permissive, without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

Missouri law expressly prohibits assisting a minor to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

Planned Parenthood has denied providing any form of transportation for patients.

“This is the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in the State of Missouri,” Mr. Bailey said when he announced the lawsuit. “What they conceal and conspire to do in the dark of night has now been uncovered. I am filing suit to ensure it never happens again.”

Referencing his own experience of losing his infant daughter just one hour after her birth, the attorney general said he felt it was important to protect life.

“Our children are the future. It is time to eradicate Planned Parenthood once and for all to end this pattern of abhorrent, unethical, and illegal behavior.”

Matt McGregor contributed to this report.