Court considers challenge to Missouri pro-life laws

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang on Wednesday was scheduled to hear arguments from Planned Parenthood and the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a case involving the state’s pro-life laws. The state has multiple laws protecting babies throughout pregnancy except in medical emergencies. Abortion advocates last month asked the court to block the enforcement of Missouri’s pro-life laws after voters backed a ballot measure barring any legislation from regulating or restricting abortion before a baby reaches viability. The measure passed in November with just over 50% support and is slated to take effect Thursday. It does not explicitly override any existing state laws and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union say their lawsuit is the next step to end the state’s near-total abortion ban.

What have state officials said about the laws? In an opinion published last week, Bailey said most abortions will be legal when the amendment takes effect. However, his office is fighting to protect babies after viability and in cases where parents do not consent to their adolescent daughters seeking the procedure. Bailey also argued that the newly passed amendment does not apply in instances where a woman is being coerced to have an abortion.

Have other states’ laws been challenged in the wake of the election? A group of Arizona abortion providers on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s law protecting babies after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Voters in Arizona in November approved a measure enshrining the right to an abortion under the state’s constitution. That measure does protect babies after they could survive outside the womb with exceptions to protect the life of the mother.

How have pro-life laws affected abortions in recent years? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released a new report with 2022 abortion data from 47 states. The report found that the total number of abortions decreased by 2% from 2021 to 2022 in the wake of the Dobbs decision. Abortions dropped in all 15 states where pro-life laws took effect, though the number increased dramatically in states where the procedure remained legal, according to March for Life.

Texas reported a more than 99% drop in abortions over the past two years, while New Mexico reported a spike in abortions for out-of-state women in 2021. However, some states like California, Maryland and New Hampshire do not require abortionists to report the number of procedures they perform. As a result, it is difficult to know how many chemical abortions are performed, said Director of the Center for Life with Alliance Defending Freedom Erik Baptist. It is still difficult to know how abortion numbers have changed in recent years, Baptist said.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report about what’s next for the pro-abortion movement after the success of state amendments.