Stop Attacks on Abortion Health Care Training in Missouri!

I urge you to oppose HB 2621 (Sparks), which limits abortion-specific training at both private and public medical schools within the state. The bill also prohibits collaborations between medical schools in Missouri and clinics located in other states for the provision of such training. If Missouri outlaws abortion-specific training, doctors may not have the needed information to act in medical emergencies. Additionally, bills like HB 2621 would likely exacerbate the existing maternal mortality crisis in the state and worsen health care deserts. HB 2621 is just the most recent attempt by Missouri lawmakers to go after abortion health care and diminish reproductive rights in the state, as Missouri is grappling with a maternal and infant mortality crisis. Despite 75 percent of maternal deaths being preventable, Missouri still struggles with a high rate of maternal mortality. Moreover, between 2021 and 2022, Missouri was one of only four states in the nation to experience a significant increase in infant mortality rates. Even before the abortion right was overturned, Missouri grappled with “maternity deserts,” where access to maternity care services was scarce. According to a 2022 March of Dimes study, almost half of the state’s counties lacked hospitals providing obstetric care or OB-GYNs. The state’s strict abortion laws likely worsened this crisis, as OB-GYNs have been leaving the state. Being denied an abortion has serious consequences. The largest study of the long term effects of being denied an abortion, the Turnaway Study, found that people forced to continue unintended pregnancies, and consequently their families, are likely to experience long-term economic insecurity and hardship. People denied abortions also face increased risk of future birthing complications and remaining in contact with abusive partners. Abortion should be legal, accessible, and free. No restriction on abortion access is just, compassionate, or acceptable.