House Bill 575: The bill requires providers to define how they calculate gestational age and “viability,” and patients to get an ultrasound before the procedure.Senate Bill 154: The bill states that the right to privacy protected by the state constitution does not include the right to an abortion.Because medication abortion is typically not recommended after 10 weeks of pregnancy, this bill may severely restrict abortions after 15 weeks, overwriting the state’s previous law at fetal viability, typically around 24 weeks. However, a judge has temporarily blocked the bill from taking effect. House Bill 721: This bill took effect immediately on May 16 after it was signed by the governor, banning the most common abortion method, which uses dilation and evacuation procedures, after 15 weeks of gestation.In August, Republican lawmakers filed another court challenge against the petition’s cost estimate, saying it is too low. Meanwhile, the pro-abortion rights campaign has lost 100 days they could have spent gathering signatures in support of the ballot proposal while the disagreement is ongoing. In June, a state judge ordered Bailey to approve Fitzpatrick’s cost estimate, but he refused to comply, after which the state Supreme Court stepped in in July and unanimously ruled he had overstepped his authority and needed to approve the cost estimate. Bailey has also cited concerns that the state could lose Medicaid funding. Bailey claims the cost of enshrining abortion rights would be much higher than Fitzpatrick’s estimate of $50,000, in-part because it does not account for loss of tax revenue from unborn Missourians.
Usually this step is not notable, but over the last several months, Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been locked in a disagreement with Republican state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, delaying the process. In Missouri, before a ballot proposal can collect signatures, the state attorney general needs to approve the state auditor’s estimate for what the proposal would cost. However, the process has been severely delayed by debates over what those amendments would cost the taxpayer. In 2024, Missouri voters could decide whether to enshrine abortion rights and access to birth control in the state constitution if the associated proposals gather enough signatures.
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