JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – One non-profit organization is sending out thousands of kits with emergency contraception to Missourians across the state in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Missouri was the first state to ban abortion following the 2022 decision. Since then, the Missouri Family Health Council says they’ve been trying to get the word out that emergency contraception is legal and they are combating this misinformation by offering kits to anyone who needs them.
“Emergency contraception will not interrupt an existing pregnancy; it is a form of birth control,” Missouri Family Health Council service delivery director Ashely Kuykendall said.
Inside a kit are two doses of emergency contraception, safer sex supplies, sexual health education, and connections to health care providers.
“If somebody were to go and purchase emergency contraception over the counter, if they were to get two doses like we have in our kits, it would cost them probably $100,” Kuykendall said.
Kuykendall said the project is funded through the Office of Popluation Affairs Title X program and the Right Time Initiative through the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Within the past year, the group has distributed more than 25,000 kits for free through mail or at one of the council’s 80 public partners.
“I think in the current state, in the current policy environment, it’s even more important to ensure that regardless of zip code or income level or insurance status that people have access to preventive health resources, and the bottom line is those can be really hard to access,” Kuykendall said.
This all comes at a time when voters could decide later this year to overturn the state’s abortion ban. Last month, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom dropped over more than 380,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office in hopes of putting abortion rights on the ballot later this year.
“What I would ask everyone to understand is to read the language for themselves about what’s being put forward because it is very extreme and requires taxpayer funding for abortion up until birth and I don’t think any Missourian agrees with that,” Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, said.
Coleman, who is running for secretary of state, was behind the heartbeat bill to ban abortion in Missouri. She said in an interview that she believes there is fear mongering going on to trick voters.
“It is currently legal in the state of Missouri to receive treatment for infertility via IVF [in vitro fertilization],” Coleman said. “It is currently legal in the state of Missouri to receive contraception; it is currently legal in Missouri to receive the morning after pill.”
No matter what the decision is later this year, the family health council does not expect a drop in demand.
“Regardless of what happens with abortion laws, people will need emergency contraception because we know it is a safe and effective way to reduce the risk of pregnancy and so we want to keep doing all we can to make sure it remains accessible and affordable to people who need it,” Kuykendall said.
For more information on the kits or to find the location of a partner, visit the Missouri Family Health Council’s website.
As for the abortion question, the secretary of state’s office should announce next month if advocates gathered the 172,000 signatures needed to put the amendment on the ballot this November.
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