On The Vine: 163 Missouri legislators walk into a uterus
Editor’s note: We are re-sending after we accidentally left the bio card off today’s On the Vine. We hope you enjoy!
Despite using the greatest form of contraception known to humankind—homosexuality—I may still one day find myself in need of an abortion.
I’d be in good company: by the time they reach the age of 45, nearly one quarter of women in the U.S. will have an abortion. But in Missouri, state legislators are scrambling for ways to make the procedure as inaccessible as possible. Today, I’m filling in for Trey Williams to sound off a bit on this topic and another: homelessness, and what Kansas City is doing to mitigate it.
Abortion and homelessness share common themes of desperation: Nobody plans to end up in their clutches, until we find ourselves there anyway. For too many, these are situations that happen to “other people,” not to us. And like so many other dire circumstances in our society, those with a financial safety net can often avoid the worst impacts.
Recent anti-abortion bills seem almost custom-designed to compound the suffering caused by poverty. Missouri State Rep. Brian Seitz’ bill, HB2810, would make helping someone have an abortion in a private home a Class B felony, but helping someone have an abortion in public or government housing a Class A felony. Thankfully, this bill is not expected to become law.
Whether we’re talking about preserving the safety of a stable home or the privacy of a reproductive health clinic, recent trends show that restrictive policies often take aim at the most vulnerable among us. Here’s a look at how they’re playing out around Kansas City.
Around the block
Amendments, medication and Planned Parenthood: Key Missouri abortion bills to watch
The Missouri state House of Representatives contains 163 legislators. It’s impossible to say for sure how many of them have uteruses, but my guess is roughly 40: The total number of women currently serving in the chamber.
The Star’s Jonathan Shorman writes:
A proposal to allow lawsuits against out-of-state individuals who help Missouri women obtain abortions has grabbed attention in the General Assembly in recent days.
But lawmakers are pursuing an aggressive agenda of measures intended to restrict access to the procedure.
As the annual session reaches its midpoint, the House and Senate have yet to pass much abortion-related legislation, though lawmakers approved a bill to defund Planned Parenthood.
Committees have been full of activity, however. Bills to require care for babies “born alive” during abortions and to stop abortion medication from coming into Missouri have all been taken up.
The lower-level debates are a sign lawmakers may be poised to take action when they return from a week-long spring break. The political calendar is also driving the heavy volume of legislation.
More from The Star…
Can you get an ‘abortion by mail’ in Missouri or Kansas? Here’s what to know
Planned Parenthood is suing Missouri over Medicaid. Here’s what patients need to know
Missouri anti-abortion bill sows confusion over ectopic pregnancies
Only five clinics in Kansas and Missouri provide abortions. Here’s how to access them
Around the block... again
KCMO just hired its very first Homelessness Prevention Coordinator. Really? Just now, for the first time?
Homelessness is a pervasive problem with wildly varying levels of visibility around the city. And the new official told reporter Anna Spoerre that the past failures of city government on this issue are “painfully obvious.”
Josh Henges pocketed a box of Barclay cigarettes and Narcan nasal spray, used for opioid overdoses. An offering and a safeguard.
Parked at the entrance of Kessler Park, where The Paseo meets Cliff Drive, Henges, Kansas City’s first Homelessness Prevention Coordinator, set off to check in on a number of people experiencing houselessness tucked back in the woods in northeast Kansas City.
He ran into Anton Washington, CEO and founder of Creative Innovative Entrepreneurs, who told him that two trans people they’d been working to get off the streets had just secured a hotel paid for by community donations, followed by two weeks at ReStart, a homeless shelter. Then the couple, both of whom grew up in the foster system, and one of whom was recently badly beaten, would be transferred to Lotus Care House.
“Seriously? Oh my god,” Henges said, sinking into a crouch with a slow exhale. “They would’ve died. I’ve never met two people less-equipped to be in the streets.”
Henges, who spent years doing street outreach, knows what’s at stake.
More from The Star…
‘Gut-wrenching’: Kansas City’s only LGBTQ-centered homeless shelter denied federal funds
Kansas City Council directs city manager to develop housing needs plan within 6 months
Kansas City’s homeless union has solutions for the city. Here is what they want
Opinion: ‘It’s a slap in the face’ that KC hasn’t funded agency to shelter LGBTQ homeless
Take care!
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This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 1:49 PM.
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