ST. LOUIS — When Politico published a leaked opinion from Justice Samuel Alito Monday, Planned Parenthood's Dr. Colleen McNicholas reacted with a "deep breath."
"This was not unexpected and for folks like our affiliate who've been operating in states like Missouri, we have been expecting and preparing for this moment," she said.
The Alito draft prompted a huge response from advocates for abortion access. Hundreds of people filled the steps in front of the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St. Louis Tuesday. The event was briefly interrupted when a man tried to drive through a line of protesters, one of them pushed onto the hood of the black Kia SUV.
"As soon as any abortion-related media hits the waves, it causes mass confusion for folks, and so we are doing a lot of patient reassurance today," McNicholas said.
Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, McNicholas says they are still seeing patients and scheduling new appointments.
As Missouri's only abortion provider, McNicholas said their staff has been in this limbo before and is used to operating in a tenuous situation when the state's Republican leadership tried to close their clinic.
Missouri lawmakers already have legislation that would trigger abortion bans with a favorable Supreme Court ruling.
Planned Parenthood has prepared for the trigger legislation, building and opening a new location in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
When Stephanie Kraft Sheley picks up her phone, there's often a teen with questions on the other side.
"For many years, abortion care in Missouri has been very restricted for teens. It has been very restricted for everyone, but there are additional barriers in the paths of teens who are seeking abortions," she said.
A lawyer who works on issues related to pregnancy, she runs the Right By You text line that offers information about reproductive rights to young Missourians. Should Missouri ban abortions, she said they'll stay online.
"Our work does not stop. We will be here to provide legally and medically accurate information on young people's legal rights in Missouri and surrounding states," she said.
In Jefferson City, Republicans acknowledge there are still options for people seeking abortions though access may soon be that much more difficult.
"They have just put it back to the state level," Cyndia Haggard, Vernon County Republicans Chair, said. "If Missouri wants to ban abortion they can ban abortion. If California wants to allow it, they can allow it."
Organizations opposing abortion were noticeably quiet Tuesday. Missouri Right to Life posted that they would remain so until the Supreme Court decision was official, the same stance as the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis.