Reproductive Freedom

Abortion is legal in Missouri. In November 2024, a majority of Missourians voted to amend the state constitution to add the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which provides the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to abortion care, prenatal care, childbirth, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions. The ACLU of Missouri can also assist minors who seek judicial bypasses in order to obtain abortion care.

The ACLU of Missouri is proud to have led the effort from the start of the initiative petition process and throughout the campaign, including several lawsuits to keep Amendment 3 on the ballot to ensure Missourians could exercise their right to the initiative petition process. The ACLU of Missouri continues to lead litigation efforts to enjoin Missouri laws that restrict abortion access that are no longer constitutional after Amendment 3 passed.

While we continue the fight to enforce Missourians’ fundamental right to reproductive freedom, here is a list of laws that we secured a preliminary injunction against to prevent the state from enforcement:

• Missouri’s total abortion ban
• Gestational age bans
• Abortion facility licensure restrictions
• Bans based on the reason a person might seek abortion care
• Hospital relationships within a geographical distance of an abortion provider
• Procedural restrictions on Medication abortion that targets abortion facilities
• Medically unnecessary tissue examinations post-procedure
• Forcing anti-abortion propaganda on the patient
• Medically unnecessary waiting periods of 72 and 24 hours
• Telemedicine ban
• Criminal penalties associated with the enjoined laws

History:

Over the past several decades, politicians in the Missouri General Assembly chipped away at abortion access. Many of these restrictions came in the form of targeted restrictions on abortion providers, also known as TRAP Laws. These laws discriminate against abortion providers by placing increased restrictions, additional barriers, and medically unnecessary standards with the intended consequence of reducing access to abortion care.

Even before the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, TRAP laws had reduced a vast majority of Missouri’s abortion access to only one Planned Parenthood abortion provider for the entire state. Planned Parenthood currently has nine clinics in Missouri.

In 2019, after the Missouri legislature passed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country, attempting to outlaw what little abortion access was left in our state , the ACLU of Missouri began organizing with partners to fight back—with an eye towards taking abortion to a vote of the people in order to make sure this vital health care is protected in a manner that the legislature cannot take away by passing politically motivated laws. In 2022, when Missouri became one of the first states to enact a total abortion ban just minutes after the fall of Roe v. Wade, the ACLU of Missouri remained steadfast in its commitment to restoring the right to abortion.

After years of polling, coalition building, community conversations, and litigation against extreme politicians who tried to thwart abortion access by any means necessary, the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign launched publicly at the beginning of 2024.

The level of engagement of Missourians to move this campaign to a successful vote was unprecedented. With significant volunteer support, in less than 90 days, the campaign collected over 380,000 signatures – more than double the amount needed to qualify for the ballot. On August 13, our ballot initiative was officially certified for the November 2024 election.