JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 The campaign for Amendment 3 said Monday more than 500 Missouri doctors have endorsed the Nov. 5 proposal to end the state鈥檚 abortion ban.
The plan would create the right to reproductive freedom and reverse the state鈥檚 current law, which only allows abortions in medical emergencies.
In a video news conference, Dr. , a St. Louis-based obstetrician and gynecologist, told reporters that doctors have received no clarity since the law took effect in June 2022 on what constitutes a 鈥渕edical emergency.鈥
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that many hospitals feel comfortable testing this law,鈥 Smith said.
Doctors who perform an illegal abortion in Missouri could face a class B felony, which can result in a prison sentence of between five and 15 years. They also could lose their medical license.
People are also reading…
鈥淧eople are afraid to challenge it because even if you would win, your life is completely turned upside-down just in being charged.鈥
She said patients with 鈥渓ife-threatening complications are scared鈥 and that patients have delayed care or traveled out of Missouri 鈥渢o get the care that they need.鈥
State abortion law a medical emergency as a condition that 鈥渂ased on reasonable medical judgment鈥 is so serious that 鈥渢he immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert the death鈥 is necessary, or for which 鈥渁 delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.鈥
Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said two hospitals 鈥 Freeman Health System in Joplin and University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas 鈥 ran afoul of the federal law after refusing an emergency abortion in August 2022 to Mylissa Farmer.
Doctors at both hospitals told the 41-year-old Joplin woman that her baby had no chance of surviving after her water broke at 17 weeks, but because of the abortion bans in Missouri and Kansas, her condition needed to worsen before they鈥檇 terminate her pregnancy.
Farmer was featured in a campaign ad by Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in her losing campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022.
In addition to 500 doctors, 300 other medical professionals also signed on to the letter, according to the campaign.
The Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign did not name the employers of the health care providers who signed the letter.
The campaign said speakers at a virtual news conference Monday were speaking on behalf of themselves and their personal experiences.
Smith is an OB-GYN for Consultants in Women鈥檚 Health Care Inc., part of Washington University Clinical Associates.
Dr. Betsy Wickstrom, a Kansas City-based obstetrician and gynecologist, said people considering Missouri for OB-GYN residencies are asking 鈥渁 lot of questions before they decide to come here.
鈥淲hat is concerning to them is: Do I even get to learn the techniques that I would need to help someone who has an incomplete miscarriage, who is bleeding?鈥 she said.
Wickstrom said cancer patients are being advised to wait until after their pregnancy to receive lifesaving care.
鈥淲hy are we making people choose between their own lives and continuing a pregnancy in a forced-birth situation?鈥 she asked.
The Missouri Supreme Court last week ordered Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to place Amendment 3 on the ballot after a last-minute lawsuit threatened to derail the campaign.
Stephanie Bell, spokesperson for Missouri Stands With Women, which opposes Amendment 3, said women and girls wouldn鈥檛 be able obtain compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit if they are injured.
鈥淒octors should put patients first,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou would think they would want to make sure that when women and girls are injured by unlicensed abortionists and shady practitioners, those patients could be compensated by filing malpractice lawsuits.鈥
Tori Schafer, an attorney for the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign, previously called the medical malpractice claim 鈥渇ully false鈥 and added Amendment 3 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 impact previous malpractice laws that were in place.鈥
The Associated Press contributed to this report.