In a Supreme Court decision issued Friday, the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned, removing the federally protected right to abortion before viability.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed the state’s “trigger ban” law minutes later, effectively outlawing abortion in the state except in the most extreme cases. However, the Kansas state constitution currently protects the right to abortion.

Our team at The Star heard from readers who were concerned about losing abortion rights in Missouri and wanted to know if people could travel to other states to receive care.

One reader asked: “Would women from Missouri be able to come to Kansas to receive an abortion?”

Another asked: “How likely is the state of Missouri legally going to be able to prosecute residents for traveling to other states to obtain abortions?”

The short answer: Crossing state lines for abortion is legal, and people seeking abortions in Kansas City are likely already crossing the state line to receive care in Kansas. Here’s what else we know.

Is it legal to cross state lines to access abortion care?

Yes. Traveling to another state for an abortion is a very common practice. For instance, the pregnancy health clinic Trust Women in Wichita has seen a large influx of patients from Oklahoma seeking its abortion services in recent months.

“Our Wichita clinic is now seeing half of our patient volume from Oklahoma,” Trust Women’s communications director Zachary Gingrich-Gaylord told The Star. “Those residents are displaced from their own communities by Texans seeking appointments at our OKC clinic.”

Since Kansas City straddles the state line, interstate travel can mean just a short drive. The two abortion clinics in the Kansas City area are both located in Overland Park, meaning that pregnant people from the Missouri side of the metro already cross the state line to access this care.

In 2021, 3,458 Missouri residents received abortions in Kansas, which is 44% of the total abortions performed in Kansas that year.

Will Missouri restrict interstate travel for abortion care?

At this time, no. Legislators may try, but such a restriction would be difficult to enforce. Republican state representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman pushed for such a measure in March, but her amendment to a larger anti-abortion bill was not adopted.

Coleman’s provision would have empowered Missourians to sue anyone who helped a Missouri resident seek an abortion out of state, from the abortion provider to whoever drove the patient across state lines. This proposal mirrored Texas’ recent abortion ban, which is enforced through private litigation rather than by the government. It’s unknown whether Coleman or another legislator will try again to implement this restriction.

Missouri’s abortion ban, which went into effect as soon as Roe v. Wade was overturned, does not criminalize crossing state lines to receive an abortion elsewhere.

What about medication abortion?

A self-managed abortion involves ending a pregnancy using the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol without the direct support of a doctor. According to reproductive rights lawyer Sara Ainsworth, it is currently safer to self-manage an abortion in Kansas than it is in Missouri.

“Generally speaking, Kansas is a place that is less likely to criminalize somebody for ending their own pregnancy,” said Ainsworth, the Senior Director of Legal & Policy for if/when/how, a legal aid group focused on abortion law. “The risk depends on a variety of factors, including the willingness of a prosecutor to try and find a crime and attach it to ending your own pregnancy.”

Ainsworth’s organization runs a free legal helpline for advice related to self-managed abortions in every state. You can call the helpline directly at 844-868-2812. Here’s more information about self-managing an abortion in the Kansas City area.

Are Kansas’ abortion protections permanent?

No. Kansas’ state constitution currently protects the right to abortion in the state, but August’s upcoming election includes a ballot initiative that will let voters decide whether to keep this protection on the books.

If successful, this measure would amend the state constitution to specify that abortion is no longer protected. That would give legislators an opening to pursue more restrictive abortion laws.

Illinois and Colorado also explicitly protect the right to abortion.

Where can I access abortion care in and around Kansas City?

There are 13 abortion clinics within a five-hour drive of Kansas City. Two are in Overland Park, and the rest are in Wichita, Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Tulsa, Oklahoma and the St. Louis area. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, some of these clinics will no longer be able to provide abortions. You can find them on our interactive map below:

Organizations like the nonprofit group Plan C offers examples of how pregnant people in every state can and do access abortion care. The group functions as a resource guide and doesn’t offer explicit medical or legal advice.

If you have questions for a doctor before, during or after an abortion, help is available. You can call or text the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline at 833-246-2632, or connect with the Ally chatbot over WhatsApp at 833-221-2559.

Do you have more questions about accessing abortion care in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 2:46 PM.

Natalie Wallington

The Kansas City Star

Natalie Wallington was a reporter on The Star’s service journalism team with a focus on policy, labor, sustainability and local utilities from fall 2021 until early 2025. Her coverage of the region’s recycling system won a 2024 Feature Writing award from the Kansas Press Association.