DID YOU KNOW?

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See links to source information at the bottom of this page.

Abortion bans: 

• do not stop abortions; they delay and complicate necessary healthcare (2)
• lead to more unwanted or unsafe pregnancies carried to term, resulting in more infant deaths (3)

States with abortion bans: 

• have the highest maternal and infant mortality rates (4). Missouri ranks 44th, making it one of the worst states for pregnant women (5)
• have OBGYNs who are constrained in providing care for miscarriages and pregnancy-related emergencies, resulting in more harm (6)
• experience a decline in the number of applicants to ALL medical residency programs (7)

1.  People who cannot access abortion are more likely to experience long-term poverty and housing instability, and rely on public assistance. (8)

2. Lack of access results in worsened economic outcomes for people (9) who are more likely to experience long-term poverty, housing instability, and rely on public assistance (10).

3. Abortion bans cost the U.S. economy billions per year due to reduced labor force participation, lower earnings for women, higher employee turnover rates, and lost work hours (11). On average, states with abortion bans have lower GDP and worse economic outcomes than states without restrictions (12).

4. A child born due to lack of access to abortion is more likely to:

     • live in a single parent household 

     • live below the federal poverty level

     • experience an increase in infant (12%) and neonatal (22%) mortality 

     • experience poor maternal bonding (13)

5. Children of people who were denied an abortion are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to achieve key developmental milestones.

Prior to the Dobbs decision, access to abortion in Missouri was already severely limited (15) due to restrictive statutes commonly referred to as Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws. TRAP laws do not improve patient safety, but instead: 

• impose abortion-only restrictions on medications and procedures that are safely used for miscarriage and stillbirths, limiting timely care for patients experiencing pregnancy loss
• are meant to make abortion inaccessible

• In 2023, 63% of abortions were medication abortions. Preserving access to Mifepristone, a safe and effective FDA-approved medication that is firmly rooted in evidence-based science, enables safe abortion care  (16) through the majority of the first trimester, up to 10 weeks (70 days) of gestation (17). 
• Access to medication abortion is particularly important in rural areas and communities with limited access to health care infrastructure. These populations face heightened logistical, financial, and geographic barriers to in-person care (18).
• The cost of a medication abortion is $580 to $800. The cost of a procedural abortion is $800 to $2000 (19). These costs do not include time off from work, child care, transportation, and other expenses when no local provider exists.

•  Crisis pregnancy centers are private organizations that are not required to comply with medical standards (20). They provide anti-abortion services, some of which have led to people being hospitalized (21). 
• Missouri provides a 70% tax credit (increasing to 100%) with no expiration date or limit for donations to these crisis pregnancy centers. These credits effectively enable donors to redirect their tax payments from the state treasury to private organizations that aim to prevent abortions rather than provide standard medical care. 
• In FY2022, Missouri allocated $6.4 million in the state budget to crisis pregnancy centers and the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program. In 2025, lawmakers allocated $8.4 million to the privately run centers.

•  Religious views on abortion and when life begins are not monolithic (22). Not all religions believe that life begins at conception or that abortion should always be prohibited. Large majorities of some faith communities (e.g., Unitarian Universalists, Jews, Buddhists) favor legal access (23). Even within religions that strongly oppose abortion, many individuals support reproductive rights (24).
• Those who are unaffiliated religiously tend to be pro-choice and are consistently more supportive of legal abortion (25).
• Abortion bans violate the separation of church and state. When the government enforces laws grounded in a specific religious belief, it risks imposing one religious doctrine on everyone, which is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (26).

Access MO is a locally led, statewide, nonpartisan PAC that supports state and local candidates and initiatives that work to maintain and restore reproductive freedom, including abortion access, in Missouri. Through our multi-faith Clergy Advisory Board and coalition building, we have built strong community support throughout the state. We are trusted leaders, backed by a board of former legislators, political consultants, physicians, lawyers, and grassroots organizers with experience from Planned Parenthood, ACLU of Missouri, Center for Reproductive Rights, and NCJW St. Louis.

We are here as a resource for you! If testimony for hearings, or information on the importance of comprehensive reproductive care is needed, please ask. We are here to help!

1. https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/abortion-is-healthcare

2. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/06/430261/how-state-bans-increase-costs-and-delay-abortion-care

3. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-unequal-impacts-of-abortion-bans

4. https://www.prb.org/articles/abortion-bans-linked-to-sharp-rise-in-sepsis-infant-death-and-maternal-mortality-new-research-shows/#:~:text=The%20health%20consequences%20of%20abortion%20bans%20extend,interpreters%20and%20enforcers%E2%80%9D%20rather%20than%20medical%20practitioners

5. https://www.kctv5.com/2024/07/09/missouri-ranks-44th-maternal-mortality-doctors-hope-state-investment-will-help/

6. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/dobbs-era-abortion-bans-and-restrictions-early-insights-about-implications-for-pregnancy-loss/#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways,option%20to%20terminate%20the%20pregnancy.

7. https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2024-05-10/medical-residents-avoiding-abortion-ban-states-like-missouri and https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/06/17/missouri-roe-v-wade-abortion-reproductive-health-care-2024/

8. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12079327/

9. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/epdf/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304247

10. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2022/06/423161/ucsf-turnaway-study-shows-impact-abortion-access

11. https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2024/7/abortion-bans-harm-women-s-reproductive-freedom-and-cost-our-economy-billions-of-dollars

12. https://www.epi.org/publication/economics-of-abortion-bans/ and Abortion Bans Hurt State Economies 

13. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12079327/

14. https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/a-new-wave-of-abortion-exceptionalism-in-the-united-states/

15. https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/despite-constitutional-amendment-abortion-still-out-reach-missouri

16. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/reducing-access-mifepristone-would-harm-patients

17. https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2024/medication-abortions-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Guttmacher%20Institute%27s%20Monthly%20Abortion,increased%20by%2037%25%20from%202020%20to%202023**

18. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/the-availability-and-use-of-medication-abortion/#:~:text=Many%20patients%2C%20particularly%20those%20who,if%20permitted%20by%20state%20law.

19. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/blog/how-much-does-an-abortion-cost

20. https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/21/missouri-abortion-pregnancy-resource-centers-tax-credit/

21. https://missouriindependent.com/2023/08/24/abortion-ban-states-pour-millions-into-pregnancy-centers-with-little-medical-care/

22. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/06/21/where-major-religious-groups-stand-on-abortion/ and https://www.npr.org/2022/05/08/1097274169/when-does-life-begin-religions-dont-agree 

23. https://virginiamercury.com/2024/05/09/religious-views-on-abortion-more-diverse-than-they-may-appear-in-u-s-political-debate/

24. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/ 

25. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/ 

26. https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/issues/reproductive-rights/#_issues