ST. LOUIS — It has been one month since Missouri voters passed an abortion-rights amendment.
Amendment 3, which is to take effect Dec. 5, does not specifically override any state laws. Instead, the measure left it to advocates like Missouri Planned Parenthood to ask courts to knock down bans they believe would now be unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, Missouri Planned Parenthood will have a court hearing in Kansas City, the next step in the continuing legal battle.
Groups on both sides of the debate spoke out ahead of Wednesday's planned hearing.
Brian Westbrook, the founder and executive director of anti-abortion group Coalition Life, held a press conference Tuesday in front of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers in St. Louis.
"We here in the state of Missouri and the women here deserve better safety standards, and we want them to comply with safety standards that are currently in place," Westbrook said.
Westbrook — who has seven children of his own — said he supported the efforts of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has argued that some abortion restrictions remain in place even with the passage of Amendment 3.
"What we want to do is protect and promote life," Westbrook said.
"Abortion is safe and a very common healthcare procedure," Dr. Colleen McNicholas, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said in a statement. "We know that Missourians across the political spectrum support access to this life-saving care, but anti-abortion extremists are again resorting to false, tired, and previously litigated scare tactics, trying to subvert the will of the people and keep abortion banned.
"As was demonstrated in the 2019 licensure case, PPGR has and continues to provide excellent, evidenced-based quality abortion care. We are saddened to hear that our patients and their healthcare will continue to be a target for extremists, but we are resolute in our commitment to doing everything we can to protect them and their privacy."
Coalition Life said regardless of what happens in court Wednesday, they will have their sidewalk counselors available at Missouri Planned Parenthood locations. Planned Parenthood has counselors at the entrance.
Wednesday's hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. in Kansas City at the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County.
"We are very optimistic if the people of Missouri know the truth about Amendment 3 they will reverse it," Westbrook said.
In order for Planned Parenthood locations to perform abortions once Amendment 3 takes effect, they must defend their 221-page lawsuit to remove barriers such as what some advocates describe as state-level "TRAP" laws, which stands for "targeted restrictions on abortion providers."
Planned Parenthood said the ways laws unfairly target abortion providers include:
Unnecessary facility requirements
Hospital admitting privileges requirements
Biased and medically inaccurate counseling requirements
Forced delay periods that require patients to make multiple trips to a clinic for care
A ban on the delivery of medication abortion by telemedicine
A physician-only law that prevents qualified medical professionals from providing abortion care
Criminal penalties for abortion providers
If the judge rules in favor of Missouri Planned Parenthood locations to remove barriers, abortion providers could start procedures as soon as Dec. 6.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.