COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s Republican attorney general has vowed to enforce a number of laws restricting abortion, despite a new constitutional amendment widely expected to overturn the state’s near-total ban on the procedure.
In an opinion requested by incoming GOP Governor Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote that his office will continue to enforce a ban on abortion after fetal viability.
An exception is included in the amendment for cases where a health care provider deems an abortion necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
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“Under the express terms of the amendment, the government can still protect innocent lives after they have become viable,” Bailey wrote. “Thus, the statutes generally remain enforceable after viability.”
Bailey said his office will also continue to respect a Missouri law that requires parental consent for minors to have abortions.
Bailey’s opinion comes after voters this month approved a ballot measure that enshrines the right to abortion in the state constitution, while allowing lawmakers to limit or ban the right after the viability of the fetus.
The term “viability” is used by healthcare providers to describe whether a pregnancy is expected to continue to develop normally or whether a fetus can survive outside the womb. Although there is no set time frame, doctors say it is sometime after the 21st week of pregnancy.
The measure’s passage was one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates in recent elections, while Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota rejected similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.
Abortion rights amendments have also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they will have to approve it again in 2026 for it to take effect. Another banning discrimination based on “pregnancy results” made the rounds in New York.
The Missouri amendment, which takes effect Dec. 5, does not specifically override state laws. Instead, the measure leaves it up to advocates to ask courts to strike down bans they now believe would be unconstitutional.
Planned Parenthood affiliates operating in Missouri filed a lawsuit the day after the election to invalidate the state’s abortion ban and several laws regulating health care. That lawsuit is still ongoing.
Allowing restrictions on post-viability abortions has been a sticking point for some abortion rights advocates in Missouri.
Advocates worried that not including such limits would reduce their chances of passing abortion protections. But others cautioned against giving the Republican-controlled Legislature the power to enact rules that could effectively end access.
