Missouri’s abortion ban is in effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. What the law means

A 2019 Missouri law banning abortion went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s what to know about this law, which has been on hold in federal court since 2019.

How does Missouri’s trigger ban work?

Missouri passed a law in 2019 that bans abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, but part of this law supersedes the eight-week ban. It’s called a “trigger clause.”

This near total abortion ban, called the Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act, was “triggered” by Attorney General Eric Schmitt Friday morning. In the past, Schmitt indicated eagerness to put the 2019 ban into effect immediately.

“If we’re successful and Roe v. Wade is overturned, I’m prepared to immediately issue the opinion that would protect the unborn in Missouri,” Schmitt said in a statement on Tuesday, May 3.

In what ways does the ‘trigger’ ban restrict abortion?

This super-strict law only allows abortion if the pregnant person’s life is in immediate danger. It does not make exceptions for scenarios like rape or incest, and it bans abortions that are based on a fetus’s sex, race or a diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

Abortions are now banned in all stages of pregnancy, even the first weeks before most people even know they are pregnant. The law specifies that the only exception to this ban is a “medical emergency” that threatens the pregnant person’s life or “create[s] a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”

Does Missouri’s ban criminalize someone for getting an abortion?

No. According to the text of the law, someone “upon whom an abortion is performed or induced” will not be prosecuted.

However, the person who provides an abortion could be subject to a class B felony, as well as the suspension or revocation of their professional license, under the Missouri law. A class B felony is punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison.

We don’t yet know how people who self-manage their own abortions, meaning they are both the provider and the patient, will be treated under this new law.

Here’s a guide to abortion clinics in the Kansas City area, and here’s a guide to the laws and resources surrounding home medication abortions in Kansas and Missouri.

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

The Star’s Kacen Bayless contributed reporting to this story.

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 3:32 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.