KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri legislator has asked Eric Schmitt, the state’s attorney general, to clarify if women can be prosecuted for using contraception under Missouri’s abortion law.
In an opinion request, State Rep. Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) asked Schmitt to issue an official opinion clarifying several parts of the law.
This includes whether his office will independently prosecute or pursue allegations of illegal abortions, specifically, whether Schmitt’s office will do so regardless of whether a local prosecutor does so.
Quade also asked Schmitt to clarify if the law prohibits prescribing or using any form of birth control.
“The state’s new anti-abortion law is so extreme, Missourians are justified in worrying they could be sent to prison for merely for taking birth control pills,” Quade said in a press release. “A legal analysis by my office provides support that the right to birth control remains protected, for now. While we continue to fight this law and even more extreme efforts, I hope to give some support for Missourians and providers to continue utilizing and prescribing the birth control that is right for them.”
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