Missouri law now says that abortion providers can’t get Medicaid payments. When Missouri’s new law goes into force, it will stop Medicaid from paying for abortion providers or their affiliates. There may be a campaign to overturn this law in the November election.
On the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in the Dobbs case, almost two years ago, Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed House Bill 2634 into law. This was the end of abortion in Missouri. The bill’s supporters said it had to pass legal muster even though abortion is banned and lawmakers found that the state hasn’t reimbursed any abortion providers or affiliates in two years.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled earlier this year against the state’s plan to cut funding for abortion doctors from the state budget. Lawmakers think the law will stand in court now that it is different from the budget bill.
Another state had already tried to do this, and the same Federal Circuit we’re in upheld the same model,” Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, who is running for her party’s nomination for secretary of state, told reporters last month after the bill passed the House.
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom gave Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft about 380,000 signatures last week for a proposed vote measure to legalise abortion. The proposal would also require the state to pay abortion providers back.
Officials must release the signature confirmation results in August, and the law that Parson signed on Thursday will go into effect on August 28.
“Gov. Parson may have signed the bill, but the fight for health care and reproductive rights is still going on!” Campaigns for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes shared on X, the site that used to be Twitter. “We’re not going to let politicians mess with people’s lives.” Everyone should be able to get good health care, which includes going to Planned Parenthood.
The Republican Freedom Caucus in the Missouri Senate said they would stop working on any bills unless Parson signed the bill right away when it got to his desk in late April. Many news outlets stated that Parson’s office said he would look over and sign bills at his own pace.
“Our administration has been the strongest pro-life administration in Missouri history,” Parson said in a statement announcing the signing. “This bill makes sure that taxpayer money doesn’t go to abortion providers for any reason, and we’ve stopped all elective abortions in this state. We’ve also approved new help for mothers, pregnant women, and children.” We appreciate that the General Assembly members saw how important this problem was and sent this bill to my desk.
