ST. LOUIS — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday morning, protecting access to abortion.
The order does not undo the moves by dozens of states, including Missouri, to ban abortion but it will help women navigate state laws to access abortion.
It comes two weeks after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The order is meant to expand access to emergency contraception to protect privacy and access.
It's also proposing legal support to protect the right to travel out of state for abortion care.
But not everyone supports the president's latest action.
It seems right now, both sides of the issue are still trying to learn more about what this order will be able to do.
Some are optimistic, others believe this won't do much.
Feeling the effects of the 49-year overturn is Alison Dreith, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Midwest Access Coalition.
She said its hotline number is seeing a jump from 30 calls a week before the overturn to 200.
It's a wave of people seeking abortion services.
"We do not fund abortion procedures themselves but we pay for and support all of the practical support needed to reach their abortion care," Dreith added.
The organization helps with travel, accommodations, food and emotional support.
The work lately, has been a heavier load to carry.
But on Friday, they felt some relief.
"It gives us a bit more energy to continue the work the next day. Having a federal document outlining what we can and cannot do to move across state lines will be extremely important," Dreith said.
She believes this could assist the Show Me State, too.
"If there is language in Biden's document including medication abortion which is approved by the FDA, it could help Missourians as well," she said.
The ACLU of Missouri also issued this statement saying:
"In Missouri, radical politicians took away the right to bodily autonomy forcing women and people who can become pregnant to carry a pregnancy against their will. In addition to the high maternal mortality rate and increased health risks that come with pregnancy in the state of Missouri, forcing someone to carry and give birth make it harder to escape poverty, derails education, career and life plans, and makes it more difficult to leave an abusive partner.
While the executive order on reproductive health is an important step to address this crisis, it is critical that the administration and Congress build on their commitment to increase access to abortion care."
However, not everyone is on board.
State Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman is a co-sponsor of Missouri's current bill which makes abortion illegal and even proposed a piece of legislation to stop people from traveling state lines to get an abortion.
"My first reaction is that it's blatantly illegal. I think it's virtue signaling if you were really serious about this, he would call on Congress to pass laws for some of these proposals," Coleman said.
She said this order is also energizing her to double down her efforts.
"That's certainly my focus is making sure that the laws on the books in the state of Missouri remain in place," Coleman said.
Representative Nick Schroer also doesn't agree with what's going on.
"Today's actions by the Biden administration are inconsistent with law and wholly ignorant of the Supreme Court's recent decision honoring states rights. Instead of focusing on illegal immigration pouring through our nonexistent border, crime spreading in our cities, the economy crumbling, inflation out of control, or the fact his administration is giving our oil to other countries, this administration plays lip service to the radical left," Schroer adds.
Representative Coleman said she doesn't believe the executive order will be upheld in court.
But for now, it's a waiting game to see what happens next and what the courts decide if legal matters come into the mix.