Planned Parenthood to Restart Regular Abortion Appointments in Columbia and Kansas City
Two of Missouri’s nine Planned Parenthood clinics are poised to start performing regularly-scheduled surgical abortions next week, though clinic leadership says access to medication abortions is in the hands of the state. Only surgical abortions will be offered initially as the clinics await state approval to restart medication abortions.
Resumption of Services by Location
The first elective abortion in Missouri since the procedure was banned in 2022 was performed earlier this month in a Kansas City Planned Parenthood clinic. It will now be offering regular appointments for surgical abortions along with the clinic in Columbia, which has not offered the procedure since 2018.
- Columbia Clinic: The first elective abortion since 2018 is scheduled for Monday. Appointments will be available at least one day a week.
- Kansas City Clinic: Beginning Wednesday, the clinic will begin seeing patients for regularly-scheduled surgical abortions at least one day a week.
Initially, they are scheduling patients up until 12 weeks in pregnancy, but clinic leadership noted they intend to expand the gestational age as they figure out scheduling.
Legal Context and Amendment 3
Two weeks ago, Jackson County judge Jerri Zhang struck down the final few regulations for Missouri abortion providers, calling them “unnecessary” and “discriminatory,” opening the door for abortions to resume. The regulations run afoul of the constitutional amendment granting the right to abortion, which voters passed in November as Amendment 3. Among these now defunct regulations is a requirement that abortion clinics submit a complication plan for medication abortions.
Challenges for Medication Abortions
While Zhang blocked the regulations connected to the complication plan, the statute itself remains. Emily Wales, president and CEO with Planned Parenthood Great Plains, stated: “We’re in uncharted territory here, because we don’t have regulations that tie to the statute, because they’re blocked.” Planned Parenthood submitted a complication plan to the state last week, but there has been no indication as to how long it will take to review the plans. Until that approval arrives, medication abortions cannot begin.
In 2023, 63% of abortions in the United States took place using medication rather than surgical procedures, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In states where abortion is legal, medication that induces a miscarriage is available to patients in their first trimester of pregnancy.
Clinical Readiness and Pain Management
Planned Parenthood’s clinics in Kansas City and Columbia are stocked with abortion medication and ready to administer it as soon as the state allows. Regarding surgical procedures, the clinic also hopes to expand the pain management offered. Initially, they plan to offer patients Valium and local anesthetic, and down the road, they hope to also offer IV sedation.