Healthcare (Hospitals)

SB 1221 - This act creates the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act". Under this act, a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities as any other person, citizen, and resident of Missouri, including any other live-born child. Any licensed, registered, or certified health care provider present at the time a child is born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion shall exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious provider would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age or fetal weight, as well as ensure that the child is transported and admitted to a hospital following such care if necessary. A person shall be civilly liable under this act when he or she: (1) knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion; (2) knowingly fails to comply with the health care provider standards of care described in this act; (3) knowingly performs or induces, or attempts to perform or induce, an unlawful abortion; (4) knowingly aids or abets another person to undergo a self-induced abortion or attempted self-induced abortion or to procure an unlawful abortion or attempted unlawful abortion; (5) knowingly, recklessly, or negligently supplies or makes available any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or any other means or substance for another person to undergo a self-induced abortion or attempted self-induced abortion or to procure an unlawful abortion or attempted unlawful abortion; or (6) knowingly incites, solicits, or otherwise uses speech or writing as an integral part of conduct in violation of a valid criminal statute to influence another person to undergo a self-induced abortion or attempted self-induced abortion or to procure an unlawful abortion or attempted unlawful abortion. A cause of action for personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death may be brought if injury or death arises out of or results from any of these circumstances to: (1) a person upon whom an unlawful abortion or attempted unlawful abortion was performed or induced; (2) a person who underwent a self-induced abortion or attempted self-induced abortion or who procured an unlawful abortion or attempted unlawful abortion; (3) a child who was born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion; or (4) an unborn child. In a cause of action for wrongful death, the spouse, partner, parents, and children of the deceased person, child, or unborn child shall be entitled to bring the action and receive damages, attorney fees, and other costs as described in the act. A defendant may not plead or prove a defense that the plaintiff or deceased person assumed or otherwise consented to certain risks involving self-induced or unlawful abortions or attempted self-induced or unlawful abortions. No person shall maintain a cause of action or receive an award of damages under this act if the person engaged in criminal conduct, domestic violence, or sexual assault that caused the pregnancy, or who is a family or household member who aided or abetted in the criminal conduct, domestic violence, or sexual assault. This act is identical to SB 702 (2025), substantially similar to provisions in the truly agreed to and finally passed SS#2/SB 999 (2026), HCS/HBs 1667 & 2294 (2026), HB 195 (2025), SCS/SB 753 (2022), provisions in SCS/HCS/HB 2012 (2022), HCS/HBs 1593 & 1959 (2022), SB 168 (2021), and SB 665 (2020), and similar to SB 388 (2019). SARAH HASKINS

This bill (SB 1070) has no substantive details provided in its official abstract or recent actions. The abstract simply states it "creates provisions relating to illegal aliens" without specifying any mechanisms, requirements, or affected groups. As it is currently in the early prefiled stage (with only a first reading), no concrete policy changes or key provisions have been described or made public. Without further legislative details, it is not possible to summarize its specific impact or provisions.

SB 1692 replaces multiple Missouri statutes related to abortion with new definitions and reporting requirements. It defines key terms like "abortion" (including termination for reasons other than live birth), "unborn child" (from conception), and "abortion facility" (clinics or offices performing abortions outside hospitals). The bill adds abortion facilities to mandatory reporting requirements for healthcare-associated infections and financial data under Missouri's hospital reporting laws. These changes create a new administrative framework for tracking abortion services and facility compliance, without altering current abortion access rules.

HB 2419 requires physicians prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to be physically present during all doses and perform an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy stage before administration. It mandates that doctors inform patients about "abortion reversal" options and provide contact information for the H3HELPLINE counseling resource. The bill also requires physicians to have a complication plan approved by health authorities for certain drugs with known high surgical intervention rates, unless the patient is in a hospital emergency. These provisions directly affect medical providers who prescribe medication abortion and patients seeking such care in the state.

HB 1945 modifies Missouri's health care payment system for clinical pathology services under MO HealthNet (the state's Medicaid program). It requires MO HealthNet to pay hospital-based pathologists 30% of Medicare's rate for the "professional component" of their services (interpretation and diagnosis), with payments going directly to the hospital if the pathologist is employed there, or to the third-party provider if not. This affects hospitals, pathologists, and MO HealthNet patients by standardizing reimbursement for these diagnostic services. The bill also adds licensing requirements for drug distributors (section 338.333), but the primary focus is on pathology billing changes.