A Missouri-based health system will once again provide emergency contraception after briefly stopping days earlier, in another example of the legal confusion affecting healthcare systems in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last week.
Early this week, Saint Luke's Health System, a network of 16 hospitals and campuses in the Kansas City area, announced it would stop providing emergency contraception -- including Plan B -- to patients in their Missouri-based locations. The decision was made in an effort to avoid legal ramifications for their physicians based on the state's abortion ban that went into effect on June 24.
On Wednesday, Saint Luke's reversed its decision.
According to a statement provided to MedPage Today, the reversal was made after additional "internal review." The health system will resume offering emergency contraception "under new protocols," while they monitor the evolving legal status of contraceptives.
"The ambiguity of the law, and the uncertainty even among state officials about what this law prohibits, continues to cause grave concern and will require careful monitoring," the statement said. "This is especially true because the penalty for violation of the statute includes the criminal prosecution of healthcare providers whose sole focus is to provide medically necessary care for their patients."
The health system's announcements highlight the legal uncertainty of providing reproductive healthcare in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision, as well as new potential legal jeopardy for physicians practicing in states with newly enacted abortion bans.
Part of that uncertainty was fueled by statements made by Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt over the past week.
Last Friday, Gov. Parson's office announced that the state law banning abortion -- which he signed in 2019 -- would formally take effect immediately. Attorney General Schmitt's office also released an official opinion confirming that the new law would go into effect immediately.
The law, known as the "Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act," contained several provisions outlawing abortion services in the state. At least two of those provisions target actions taken by physicians directly, according to a press release from the governor's office.
One provision prohibits performing abortions unless for medical emergencies, and the other establishes criminal liability for anyone who "knowingly performs or induces" an abortion that is not required by a medical emergency. The law also states that physicians could have their professional licenses suspended for performing an abortion, the press release noted.
Missouri is one of more than a dozen states with similar "trigger laws" that were set to go into effect after Roe was overturned.
The announcement prompted Saint Luke's initial decision to stop providing emergency contraception to avoid any potential legal liability for the health system's physicians. Then, state officials provided more detail about the legal use of emergency contraceptives, prompting the change to resume the practice, Saint Luke's said.
On Wednesday, Gov. Parson sent a tweet to clarify the legal status of contraceptives under the new law. "To address any misinformation: Missouri law has not changed the legality of contraceptives. Contraceptives are not abortions and are not affected by the Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act," the tweet read.
Saint Luke's stated that it will continue to "closely monitor legal developments regarding Missouri's abortion trigger law," as it resumes providing emergency contraception.
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