The REACH Healthcare Foundation supports the passage of Missouri Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, which will appear on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.
The REACH Healthcare Foundation was established to help all people in our communities achieve equitable health outcomes. Our focus on health care coverage and access and reducing health disparities across our service area has included significant maternal, prenatal, and reproductive care and education investments.
Given our focus on health equity, the Foundation’s leadership opposes public policies that limit or negatively impact access to medical treatment and procedures for any population group. This includes a Missouri law that went into effect in June 2022, which bans abortion with few exceptions and limited consideration for a childbearing person’s life, health, condition, or circumstance.
The current law includes a requirement that patients must undergo a mandatory 72-hour waiting period and receive counseling prior to an abortion. Except in very limited circumstances, state Medicaid coverage and private health insurance payments for abortion are prohibited. The current Missouri law also requires that a minor seeking an abortion must receive parental consent.
The REACH Healthcare Foundation holds firm to its longstanding guiding principle that access to quality healthcare is a fundamental human right. Abortion rights and reproductive health, albeit complex and emotionally charged subjects, are no exception. Whether by choice or necessity, it is crucial that any individual faced with time-critical decisions about their health has access to the care they need without interference or delay. The ability of people to make personal health decisions without fear of reprisal and unnecessary intrusion by the state is also essential to their mental health, autonomy, and well-being.
Our experience at REACH tells us that people living in isolated communities, including rural areas far from health care specialists, and those with unforeseen life and health conditions, are currently faced with the additional burden and health risks associated with being unable to safely and timely receive expert reproductive health guidance and assistance. Further, we know that restrictions to healthcare access of any kind nearly always disproportionately impact low-income populations and people of color.
The REACH Foundation urges Missouri voters to inform themselves about the upcoming vote on Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, and to VOTE YES to enshrine reproductive rights in the state’s constitution.
