Health Care
Judge under tight deadline to rule on Missouri abortion amendment’s place on ballot
A lawsuit attempting to knock a reproductive-rights amendment off the November ballot could hinge on whether it would immediately repeal Missouri’s current near-total ban on abortion, an issue disputed during a two-hour-long hearing Friday. Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh said at the completion of Friday’s hearing that he intends to rule quickly because the […]
Missouri judge hears arguments challenging ‘fair ballot language’ for abortion amendment
A judge could decide as early as Thursday whether Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s “fair ballot language” summary for an abortion-rights amendment is truly fair. Missouri voters will be asked on Nov. 5 whether they support Amendment 3, which would establish a constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability and protect other […]
Emergency responders struggle with burnout, budgets as disasters mount
AUSTIN, Texas — Four days after residents of coastal Houston celebrated the Fourth of July with the traditional parades, backyard barbecues and fireworks, Beryl came calling. The Category 1 hurricane, weakened from an earlier Category 5, slammed into Texas’ largest city on July 8 — an unusual midsummer arrival. Delivering one of the worst direct […]
Rural Missouri has high smoking rates, and the health problems that follow
Families flock to McDonald County in southwest Missouri each summer to float down the Elk River, visit the caves where Jesse James took refuge and stay in a rustic cabin. The county is a vestige of old, wild Missouri charm — and a place where restaurants and bars still ask, “Smoking or non?” People in […]
Summer COVID surge is starting to recede in Missouri. The next wave is likely only weeks away
A summer COVID wave fueled by a highly contagious variant, increased travel and hot days that crowded people indoors may be starting to ebb in the Kansas City area. Health officials said they hope that surge prompts far more people to sign up for the new COVID vaccine, which could reach area pharmacies next week. […]
Climate change poses health risks. But it’s hard to fight when state policy ignores it
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is the hottest state in the contiguous United States, and its residents suffer the most heat-related illness. Older people are most susceptible to the heat, and nearly 4.7 million Floridians — 1 in 5 residents — are older than 65. The peninsula has 8,436 miles of coastline, and three-quarters of state […]
Planned Parenthood challenges new Missouri law blocking Medicaid payments to its clinics
Missouri's Planned Parenthood affiliates are asking the state administrative hearing commission to block a new law that prohibits the organization from being reimbursed for serving Medicaid patients.
Lawsuit seeks to knock Missouri abortion-rights amendment off Nov. 5 ballot
A pair of Republican state legislators and an anti-abortion activist filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to block an abortion-rights constitutional amendment from appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Rep. Hannah Kelly and Kathy Forck sued last year challenging the cost estimate for a proposed constitutional amendment rolling back […]
Helping a minor travel for an abortion? Some states have made it a crime
Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in at least two Republican-led states, prompting legal action by abortion-rights advocates and copycat legislation from conservative lawmakers in a handful of other states. Last year, Idaho became the first state to outlaw “abortion trafficking,” which it defined […]
Calls from Missouri to new 988 crisis hotline up 136% since 2022
Missouri has seen one of the nation’s largest increases in calls to the revamped national hotline that aids people facing mental health crises.
FDA greenlights new COVID vaccine after a summer of rising numbers of cases
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine intended to address severe symptoms of the virus ahead of the cold and flu season. The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer follow a summer of increasing COVID-19 cases and are designed to better address the variants that are […]
Missourians average 1 year in jail waiting for court-ordered mental health treatment
The number of people languishing in Missouri jails in need of court-ordered mental health treatment currently stands at 344 — and the wait time for a hospital bed averages one year. That’s up from 254 people this time last year, according to Missouri Department of Mental Health data provided to The Independent. A spokeswoman for the […]