October 23, 2024

In response to unelected Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s latest attack on reproductive freedom with a lawsuit aimed at restricting access to mifepristone, a critical miscarriage management treatment, the Missouri Democratic Party released the following statement:

“For years, Missouri Republicans have been leading a war on Missouri women and girls, and this latest attempt by the unelected Attorney General to limit access to a safe miscarriage management treatment is the latest attack. In this lawsuit, Bailey explicitly exposed his motivation around blocking access to this essential medication as political and argued that teen pregnancy decline in Missouri ‘contributed to a population loss for the states along with diminishment of political representation and loss of federal funds,’ said Communications Director Chelsea Rodriguez. 

“The willingness to argue this in writing demonstrates the complete lack of respect Missouri Republicans and the unelected Attorney General have for Missouri families. Instead of working to make life easier for all Missourians, these Republican politicians are only interested in launching their next political attack using our lives as the collateral, no matter how many times they lose in court or at the ballot box.” 

Background:

The Missouri Independent: Missouri AG In Abortion Pill Lawsuit Argues Fewer Teen Pregnancies Hurt State Financially

“Missouri’s attorney general has renewed a push to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, arguing in a lawsuit filed this month that its availability hurt the state by decreasing teenage pregnancy. 

The revised lawsuit was filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, alongside GOP attorneys general in Kansas and Idaho. It asks a judge in Texas to order the Federal Drug Administration to reinstate restrictions on mifepristone, one of two medications prescribed to induce chemical abortions.

The trio of attorneys general were forced to refile the litigation after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the original lawsuit after concluding the original plaintiffs — a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations — did not have standing to sue because they couldn’t show they had been harmed.

In making the case that the states have standing this time, the attorneys general contend access to mifepristone has lowered “birth rates for teenaged mothers,” arguing it contributes to causing a population loss for the states along with “diminishment of political representation and loss of federal funds.”

Kansas City Star: MO Lawmakers Fail To Pass Bill Banning All Child Marriages

KCUR: More Than Half Of Rural Hospitals In Missouri And Kansas No Longer Deliver Babies

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Among Worst States For Women’s Overall Health, Reproductive Care, Study Finds

Missouri Independent: Missouri Won’t Meet Deadline For Clearing Months-Long Backlog Of Child Care Subsidies

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Media Contact: 

Chelsea Rodriguez, Communications Director

press@missouridems.org