It’s been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and remade the national landscape of abortion law.
That ruling cleared the way for Missouri to ban the procedure in all but the rarest circ*mstances. Kansas voters, meantime, voted convincingly less than two months later to protect abortion rights, and the state soon became a regional destination for women barred from abortions in their home states.
Other court rulings brought things like in vitro fertilization and access to mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug, into question. This month, the high court dismissed a case that would have limited access to the drug.
The Beacon compiled a list of what has and has not changed since the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022.
Access to abortion after Dobbs
Missouri
Before the Dobbs decision, abortions were already extremely limited in Missouri. State law prohibited abortions of a viable fetus unless it was needed to preserve the life of the mother or if the pregnancy would cause irreversible physical harm to her. The state also required a 72-hour waiting period, counseling and, if the patient was a minor, parental consent.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion was entirely banned in Missouri, except for medical emergencies.
Kansas
Kansas law allowed abortions up until 22 weeks, and only cases of a medical emergency after that. State law also required a 24-hour waiting period, counseling and parental consent for minors.
In August 2022,voters chose to keep the right to an abortion in the Kansas Constitution. The law remains the same: abortion is generally prohibited after 22 weeks, a waiting period and counseling are required, and minors require approval from parents or a judge.
Out-of-state abortions
Kansas
Kansas was already a destination for Missourians seeking abortions before the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade.
In 2021, 7,849 abortions were reported in Kansas. About 3,900 of those were performed on Kansans, while roughly another 3,900 came from out-of-state.
The latest data show that from January to December 2023, 14,180 abortions, or 69% of Kansas abortions, were performed on out-of-state residents.
State funding of crisis pregnancy centers
Missouri
In fiscal year 2022, Missouri allocated $6.4 million to crisis pregnancy centers and the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program. People who support them say those centers give support to pregnant women and give them alternatives to abortion. Detractors say they trick pregnant women at vulnerable times and try to manipulate them into carrying pregnancies to term.
In the state’s upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget, lawmakers allocated $8.4 million to the privately run centers.
Kansas
In fiscal year 2022, Kansas allocated approximately $338,846 to its Pregnancy Maintenance Initiative, which was designed to present alternatives to abortion and provide services to low-income pregnant women in Kansas. Critics see that program as a way to pressure pregnant women away from getting abortions.
In fiscal year 2025, lawmakers allocated $2 million to the Kansas Pregnancy Compassion Awareness program, which is intended to promote childbirth instead of abortions.The funding was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, but the veto was overridden by the legislature.
State funding for family planning services (including Planned Parenthood)
Missouri
In fiscal year 2022, Missouri allocated $11.6 million in state and federal funds to family planning services for uninsured Missourians.
In the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, Missouri lawmakers allocated nearly $1.1 million in state funds for family planning services for uninsured people, after Medicaid was expanded.
Lawmakers also passed a bill during the 2024 legislative session that prevents state dollars from being funneled to Planned Parenthood or any medical provider that is affiliated with providing abortions, though few abortions happen in Missouri. In 2023, 37 abortions were performed in Missouri.
Kansas
In fiscal year 2022, Kansas lawmakers allocated $2.1 million for family planning services in state funds.
In fiscal year 2025, Kansas lawmakers allocated $2 million for statewide family planning health care access.
OB/GYN residencies after Roe v. Wade
Missouri
The Association of American Medical Colleges found that there was a 2.1% increase in medical students applying for residency in Missouri from 2020 to 2021. Residency programs saw a 3% increase in applications from medical students across all specialties.
Following the Dobbs decision, the group found a 25.7% drop in medical students with a focus in obstetrics and gynecology applying for residency in Missouri from 2023 to 2024. For students across all specialties, applications for residency programs in Missouri fell 17%.
Kansas
From 2020 to 2021, the number of students applying to residency programs in Kansas grew 2.1%, the association found. Data was insufficient to determine how many of those students were applying to OB/GYN programs.
From 2023 to 2024, the group found a 18.1% drop in students applying to residency programs across all specialties.
Wait times for clinics
Kansas
Kansas has seen an uptick in demand for appointments, according to Planned Parenthood Great Plains. After increasingly restrictive abortion laws have been passed in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, wait times for abortions have gone up. The Planned Parenthood clinics also see heavy demand for appointments on Fridays or Saturdays due to out-of-state patients traveling.
Access to in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Missouri
In Missouri, IVF is available. Some Missouri lawmakers attempted to pass protections to IVF during the 2024 legislative session, but none of the bills passed.
Kansas
In Kansas, IVF is available. Democrats in the Kansas Senate attempted to pass legislation to protect the procedure during the 2024 legislative session, but it failed.
Access to emergency contraception
Missouri
Emergency contraception remains legal in Missouri. The Missouri Family Health Council offers free emergency contraception at 70 locations in Missouri, and it can be obtained through the council’s website.
Kansas
Emergency contraception remains legal in Kansas.
Access to birth control
Missouri
Birth control is legal in Missouri. Missouri lawmakers made a bipartisan push during the 2024 legislative session to allow doctors to prescribe one year of birth control at a time, as opposed to a monthly supply.
Kansas
Birth control is legal in Kansas.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
