By Cheryl Sullenger
Kansas City, MO – A pitched battle for the lives of babies in the womb is currently being waged in Missouri, a state well known for its impressive array of pro-life legislation that protects not only babies, but also pregnant women, from an abortion cartel that seeks complete deregulation of the business of abortion.
This battle is being waged on several fronts: in the courts, in the legislature, at the ballot box, and on the streets outside Missouri’s three abortion facilities, where pro-life supporters regularly gather to pray and offer practical assistance to abortion-bound women. The outcome of this drama – one way or another – could serve as a template for other states where pro-abortion ballot initiatives have written the non-existent “right” to abortion in their state constitutions.
“We have long collaborated with pro-lifers in Missouri to expose the horrific dangers of abortion at Planned Parenthood facilities there. I have a great deal of respect for what they were able to accomplish to protect the lives of women and their babies. Missouri stood as the ideal of what an Abortion Free state could look like, and I believe it will again,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
Demand for Deregulation
A crucial trial is now underway in Kansas City, Missouri. A case filed by Planned Parenthood Great Plains, based in Overland Park, Kansas, and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, based in St. Louis, Missouri, seeks to nullify 20 years of state pro-life safety laws in favor of a policy of total unaccountability. (Case number 2416-CV31931, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains vs the State of Missouri.)
This is happening in the wake of the narrow passage of Amendment 3 in November 2024, which encoded unrestricted abortion in the State Constitution and rescinded Missouri’s full abortion prohibition that took effect after the 2022 Dobbs v. JWHO Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v. Wade.
Despite their win at the polls, the two Planned Parenthood organizations that operate in Missouri have struggled to resume surgical abortions at clinics in Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis. Abortions using chemical means are still not allowed under Missouri law.
After pouring $31 million into the Amendment 3 campaign – ten times what pro-life opponents spent – the outcome for Planned Parenthood has been frustrating for them. Their clinics conducted just eighty abortions from January through October of 2025, according to preliminary Health Department data shared by Kathy Forck, who heads Columbia 40 Days for Life. This is far from the 11,619 abortions conducted in Missouri twenty years ago in 2005, when the push for more abortion business accountably and safety began in earnest.
Why so few abortions now that abortion is ensconced in the Missouri Constitution?
Planned Parenthood cannot comply with pro-life safety laws still on the books.
The abortion giant is now asking Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri J. Zhang to block enforcement of those laws, which include common sense provisions that require the following:
- Ultrasounds prior to abortions.
- Reflection periods to give women time to fully consider their options.
- Informed consent to make sure women can make fully informed decisions.
- Clinic licensing, to ensure they meet the same standard of care that other medical facilities must meet, including proper sterilization of surgical equipment.
- Nearby hospital privileges for abortionists in the event of a medical emergency.
- Abortions done only by licensed physicians.
Abortionists Testify
The first witnesses to take the stand during the first day of trial on Monday, January 12, were Dr. Margaret Baum, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers and Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers.
Samuel Lee, Director of Campaign Life Missouri, is attending the trial and explained in an e-mail the radical nature of Planned Parenthood’s demands.
“Both witnesses testified that there should be no restrictions on abortion, except for maybe business occupancy permits that every business needs. No doctor-only requirements, no doctor’s hospital admitting privileges, no malpractice insurance, no inspections or licensing, no pathology reports, no waiting periods, no bans on sex-selective or race-based abortions or babies diagnosed with the possibility of Down Syndrome, etc.” Lee stated, adding that the Planned Parenthood officials and attorneys believe “[e]verything should be struck down under Amendment 3.”
On the second day of trial, Daniel Grossman, MD, Director of Advancing New Standards In Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), which is affiliated with the radically pro-abortion UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, testified as an expert in “abortion and mental health” in favor of Planned Parenthood. He testified about the ANSIRH “Turnaway” study that claims women who are denied abortions experience “worse financial, health and family outcomes.”
There has been heavy criticism of the Turnaway study. Troy Newman is suspicious of the ANSIRH findings.
“ANSIRH is a radical pro-abortion organization that has a stake in producing ‘findings’ that support abortion and portray it as the best thing that can happen to a woman. On the contrary, there is a vast body of highly respected documentation that shows abortion harms women and dramatically increases their risk of addiction and suicide attempts,” said Newman. “I just cannot trust one word that comes from ANSIRH because of their inherent bias and aggressive pro-abortion agenda.”
The Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway and her office is committed to aggressively defending Missouri’s pro-life laws. The State’s witnesses are expected to be heard later in the week.
The trial is expected to continue through Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Pro-Life Ballot Initiative
Meanwhile, pro-life supporters in Missouri are not depending solely on the outcome of the trial to ensure protections for women and their babies.
They have put their own “Amendment 3” initiative on the ballot for November 3, 2026, which, if passed, will essentially repeal the 2024 amendment, restore the statewide ban on abortion and also prohibit gender transition surgeries for minors, an issue that has solid public support.
Hypothetically, should Planned Parenthood win the current lawsuit, a win at the ballot box for Amendment 3: Prohibit Abortion and Gender Transition Procedures for Minors Amendment in November would essentially invalidate that decision.
Prayer Requested
“Please pray for those involved in this case, including the attorneys, the witnesses for the state, and the judge, that there would be a positive outcome for the babies,” said Newman. “Also, pray for the protection and safety of all involved. There are a lot of moving parts in a trial like this, as I saw first-hand when I was sued by Planned Parenthood in San Francisco for exposing their trafficking in aborted baby remains. Each person who stands for life in that Kansas City courtroom needs to be covered in prayer.”
Sam Lee also encourages pro-life Christians to pray Psalm 55:9. “Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city.”
This report may be republished with inclusion of the following acknowledgement: “This article was originally published by Operation Rescue, a leading pro-life, Christian activist organization dedicated to exposing abortion abuses, demanding enforcement, saving innocent lives, and building an abortion-free America. The author, Cheryl Sullenger, is Operation Rescue Sr. Vice President Emeritus.”
