Planned Parenthood Great Rivers (PPGR) will be closing three of its Missouri facilities next month, insisting that these changes will only improve access to abortion.
The first two facilities to close will be the Florissant Health Center and the South Grand Health Center on November 1, 2024, followed by the Joplin Health Center on January 1, 2025. PPGR will be expanding its telehealth services, and the St. Louis locations will increase their hours as part of a consolidation effort. No staff members will be laid off, according to Planned Parenthood.
Interim President and CEO of PPGR, Richard Muniz, said that patient care will be transferred to other Planned Parenthood locations, with a plan to increase virtual care access and expedite appointments. “The operational changes we’re announcing will ensure that we’re here for our patients, not just today, tomorrow, but for the next 90 years,” Muniz said. “Our patients are our top priority, and despite repeated attacks from politicians, our commitment never wavers.”
Missouri has recently implemented legislation that prevents Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements; however, the abortion corporation has said the closures are not related to the law. Missouri voters will also be voting in November on whether or not to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. Amendment 3 would widely expand abortion access in the state, allowing preborn children to be killed at any time during pregnancy for any reason. According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s website:
A “yes” vote establishes a constitutional right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental interference of that right presumed invalid; removes Missouri’s ban on abortion; allows regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient; requires the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care; and allows abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman.
A “no” vote will continue the statutory prohibition of abortion in Missouri.
If passed, this measure may reduce local taxes while the impact to state taxes is unknown.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had attempted to change the wording of Amendment 3 to honestly declare to the public what impact it would truly have, but this wording was rejected by the courts. He noted that if passed, the Missouri Constitution would:
… allow for dangerous, unregulated, and unrestricted abortions, from conception to live birth, without requiring a medical license or potentially being subject to medical malpractice;
nullify longstanding Missouri law protecting the right to life, including but not limited to partial-birth abortion;
require the government not to discriminate against persons providing or obtaining an abortion, potentially including tax-payer funding;
and prohibit any municipality, city, town, village, district, authority, public subdivision, or public corporation having the power to tax or regulate or the state of Missouri from regulating abortion procedures[.]
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To continue profiting despite the closed locations, PPGR will transport patients in the Joplin area to the Springfield location, 75 miles away, and referrals will be made to the Pittsburg, Kansas, facility, about 30 miles away. Muniz explained that the decision on which facilities to close was driven by data, noting that many patients travel to multiple health centers, often choosing the one with the soonest availability.
Beginning November 1, two remaining St. Louis area facilities — the West County location in Manchester and the St. Peters location — will expand services through a Title X family planning program for uninsured/underinsured individuals. The St. Peters location will increase its hours to five days a week, including one Saturday a month.
According to Muniz, Amendment 3 was not a factor in the decision. He declined to specify which Missouri Planned Parenthood locations might resume committing abortions if Amendment 3 passes. “We expect Amendment 3 to pass,” he said, “and when it does, what abortion access will look like in Missouri will depend on litigation and what restrictions courts will block from remaining in effect.”
