CONFUSION

Major Missouri Hospital System Pulls, Then Reinstates, Plan B Amid New Abortion Law

Even Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons was unsure if the state’s new law covered emergency contraceptives.

Saint Luke’s Health System said Wednesday it had reversed its short-lived decision to stop offering Plan B in the wake of Missouri’s abortion ban coming into effect. Initially on Wednesday, the company, which operates 17 hospitals and clinics in the state, said it would stop providing the emergency contraceptive for fear of “criminal prosecution.” In a follow-up statement, they said they would resume providing it under new protocols but “the ambiguity of the law, and the uncertainty even among state officials about what this law prohibits, continues to cause grave concern and will require careful monitoring.” Even Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons was unable to tell reporters Tuesday if the law criminalized birth control, but Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt told KSHB that the law “does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B, or contraception.”