Missouri law criminalizes abortion. Here’s why OB-GYNs are alarmed

Dr. Jeannie Kelly, a Washington University OB-GYN, is concerned for pregnant patients in Missouri.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Missouri became one of the first states to ban most abortions. There’s an exception in cases of medical emergency, which the state defines as “serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”

Kelly told St. Louis on the Air that the law’s definition lacks nuance.

“Medicine, in general, is not really black and white in many circumstances,” said the associate division director of maternal-fetal medicine at Washington University.

“There are many clinical situations that we are concerned [about],” she added. “The law is vague, and the law is not well defined [regarding] these trickier situations where we're not sure: ‘Is this a medical emergency? Does it qualify as an exception to this abortion ban? Or would we be risking our licenses and we'd be risking jail time if we perform the abortion in this circumstance?’”