Governor Mike Parson has denied a state Democratic lawmaker's request to hold a special session for clarification on birth control protections with abortions now illegal in Missouri.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade released a statement on the topic saying, "While we agree the state’s extreme new anti-abortion law doesn’t criminalize birth control...the legislature must erase all doubt before some politically ambitious prosecutor decides trampling over Missourians’ rights is the best path to winning a Republican primary."
Parson responded with assurance that nothing has changed in terms of people's access to birth control.
"Nothing whatsoever has changed in the state of Missouri since that ruling," he said. "Everything you could buy three months prior to that, you can buy today."
Parson added that even after the ruling, access to abortion hasn't changed much in the state.
"The truth of the matter is that we weren't doing abortions in the state," he said. "In 2021 I think there was 42 or somewhere in the 40 bracket, and those were all for medical reasons. So nothing's really changed in our state."
Parson was under fire from Democrats on Thursday after a video of him talking about the "medical emergencies" provision was released. In the video, Parson said whether or not a pregnancy is a danger to the mother or child is a "complicated issue" between a woman and her doctor, which some argued is hypocritical.