Missouri Gov. Parson rejects special session on contraceptives, ectopic pregnancies

Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday rejected a request from the state’s top Democratic leaders to convene a special session so lawmakers could pass legislation to protect access to contraception and a doctor’s ability to treat ectopic pregnancies under Missouri’s abortion ban.

Kelli Jones, Parson’s spokesperson, confirmed the decision to The Star after Parson told reporters at an event in St. Louis that he would not call a special session to clarify the law, as reported by St. Louis FOX affiliate KTVI.

“No, not a special session, because you’re talking a very complicated issue that’s going to take time to figure out,” Parson told reporters.

Missouri’s 2019 abortion ban, which bars the procedure in nearly all cases except for a medical emergency, went into effect last month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion activists and doctors have since criticized the law as being too vague. Some have questioned whether it limits access to emergency contraceptives like Plan B or puts an unnecessary strain on doctors who have to perform an abortion to save a woman’s life.

Parson and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt last month both offered assurances that the abortion ban did not prohibit contraception after a Kansas City area health system briefly stopped providing Plan B.

In a letter to Parson on Monday, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield and Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence wrote that the abortion ban had sparked confusion about contraceptives and what constitutes a medical emergency. The top Democrats asked Parson to call a special session to clarify the law.

Quade, in a statement Thursday, criticized the Republican governor for rejecting her call. She said Parson had chosen to issue vague assurances instead of providing legal certainty in state law.

“While we agree the state’s extreme new anti-abortion law doesn’t criminalize birth control, the legislature must erase all doubt before some politically ambitious prosecutor decides trampling over Missourians’ rights is the best path to winning a Republican primary,” the statement said. “

“We need a special session to settle this issue before innocent Missourians are wrongfully dragged through the criminal justice system, not after.”