By now you’ve hopefully heard–Missouri may soon shut down the last abortion facility in Missouri, in St. Louis. If it closes, Missouri would become the first state with no abortion facilities. This was made possible by a combined effort of pro-life legislation and local and national pro-life groups, including Students for Life of America.
Western Regional Director Reagan Barklage, along with Students for Life groups in the state have been working with local pro-life groups to bring attention to the numerous ambulances called to the St. Louis Planned Parenthood, calling for an investigation back in March into the practices. Additionally, Students for Life groups have spent the Spring semester with the Planned Parenthood Truth Tour, calling attention to the filthy conditions of may abortion facilities, even collecting thousands of post cards demanding an inspection.
The Daily Beast took note of our efforts. In a recent article, they noted, “The announcement that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri is on the verge of shutting down—which would make the state the first to have no abortion providers—is the culmination of a decade-long campaign of surveillance and speculative complaints by activists…At the “MO Show Me Life Rally” this year, Students for Life activists demanded the governor launch an investigation into the clinic, citing Operation Rescue’s data. At the same time, local anti-abortion group Team PLAY took the ambulance reports and distributed them to anti-abortion lawmakers like Sen. Paul Wieland and Rep. Nick Schroer in booklet form. Wieland and four other legislators appeared at protests with Team PLAY activists across the state where Planned Parenthood was hoping to expand abortion access in 2017.”
Earlier in March, numerous pro-life groups held a press conference calling for investigations into the St. Louis Planned Parenthood. At the time, Barklage said, “The event had a great turnout and we hope Attorney General Eric Schmitt takes their words to heart and orders an investigation of this dangerous facility. Women are fed a lie that they must end the lives of their children in order to be successful, they pay a visit to Planned Parenthood, and 71 have left on a stretcher. Women deserve better than this!”
This followed an earlier ‘women in white’ event in October 2017, where women dressed in white to represent the women who had to leave Planned Parenthood in St. Louis in an ambulance.
In a recent statement, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America said, “The people of Missouri have the chance to show the nation what a world after Roe looks like, both in closing down the predatory, profiteering abortion vendors and then in reaching out to mothers and their children in life-affirming policies.”
As we prepare for a post-Roe America, we will continue our efforts to abolish abortion in each state. You can hear more about our plans by tuning in to Kristan Hawkins’ podcast.
