KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in the Northland, including in Clay and Platte counties. Have a story idea? Send her an email.
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Missourians can now access the abortion pill for the first time since 2018. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Gladstone is the second location in Kansas City to offer the service.
On June 18, a Jackson County judge struck down restrictions that essentially banned abortion pills, ruling that they violated the Reproductive Rights Amendment approved by voters in 2024.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said medication abortion had remained restricted until the most recent court ruling.
"We've had procedural abortion restored for over a year now after the 2024 right to reproductive freedom went into effect," Wales said.
Wales said the Gladstone clinic has been preparing for months to offer medication abortion and was ready to go when the ruling came down.
"We recently rolled out medication abortion at our Gladstone location, which is the first time in decades that a facility that hadn't previously had abortion can help with these services," Wales said.
The service is now also accessible at Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis and Columbia.
How long that access lasts, however, remains uncertain. The Missouri General Assembly passed a measure to repeal the state constitutional right to abortion, and Missouri voters will have a chance to weigh in on that in November.
Allen Rostron, a law professor at UMKC, said the situation could go either way.
"Right now, there is a constitutional right in Missouri to choose to have an abortion, but it's under the state constitution because Missouri voters chose to put it there," Rostron said.
Rostron continued, "There's a chance it may once again swing back the other way because the general assembly passed a measure to repeal the state constitutional right, and Missouri voters will have a chance to weigh in on that in November. That may remain true for years to come, or it may be changed fairly soon, within a few months, when Missouri votes again."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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