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House Democrats seek to expand reproductive health care

Lawmakers highlight legislation on 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade 
Members of the Missouri House Democratic Caucus (MHDC)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – On the 51st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, House Democrats on Monday highlighted a package of legislation aimed at restoring and protecting reproductive rights in Missouri and expanding access to reproductive health care services.

 

Two of those proposals seek to amend the Missouri Constitution to restore abortion rights in the state. Abortion has been illegal in Missouri in nearly all circumstances, including rape or incest, under a state law enacted in 2019 that took effect in June 2022 after the Supreme Court’s current extremist majority overturned Roe and eliminated abortion rights under the federal constitution with their infamous ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

 

Roe empowered generations of women to control their reproductive fates without government interference,” said state Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield. “Now that extremist judges and lawmakers have decided government knows best when it comes to women’s lives, Missourians must reassert their rights. Reproductive freedom will be on the Missouri ballot this year, and it will prevail.”

 

Quade’s House Joint Resolution 105 and House Joint Resolution 106 sponsored by state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, are similar in intent to an initiative petition currently being circulated to put an abortion rights measure on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot.

 

Related legislation, HB 2038 sponsored by state Rep. Emily Weber, D-Kansas City, would more definitively protect the right to an abortion prior to the point of fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother.


House Democrats have filed several bills to expand access to birth control. Among them are House Bill 1874 sponsored by state Rep. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, mandating that insurance companies cover a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives at a time; House Bill 2295 sponsored by state Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, authorizing pharmacists to dispense birth control bills without requiring periodic prescription renewals; and House Bill 2121 sponsored by state Rep. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, requiring hospitals to provide emergency contraception on request in cases of sexual assault.

 

Other Democratic bills relating to reproductive health include:

 

  • House Bill 1683 sponsored by state Rep. LaDonna Appelbaum, D-St. Louis, and House Bill 2341 sponsored by state Rep. Betsy Fogle, D-Springfield, to require insurance coverage of fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization;

  • House Bill 1446 sponsored by state Rep. Jamie Johnson, D-Kansas City, authorizing insurance coverage for doula services;

  • House Bill 1599 sponsored by state Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, establishing the Missouri Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act to require implicit bias training for providers of perinatal care;

  • House Bill 2370 sponsored by Lewis requiring public middle and high schools, including charter schools, to provide period products at no charge to students; and

  • House Bill 2245 sponsored by state Rep. Eric Woods, D-Kansas City, prohibiting period tracker applications from sharing a person’s data without their consent.

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