Good morning. Last week,
the Supreme Court endangered the lives
of millions of Americans by rolling back.
Roe versus Wade and triggered a major
public health crisis in Missouri.
Or our state legislature has
already discussed some of the
most extreme laws in the country.
Abortion should be legal, safe,
accessible and affordable.
The state's attorney general,
desperate for higher office,
was proud to proclaim Missouri
abortions banned.
But what he also proclaimed
is he does not care about the
health care of Missourians,
especially women of color and those
who have been disproportionately
impacted by lack of access to
healthcare based on where they live.
The High Court's decision is a dangerous
political play that will jeopardize
the lives of women for years to come.
In Saint Louis County,
we do not prescribe to
these dangerous beliefs.
That's why I will support the County
Council proposal to designate at least
$1,000,000 in ARCA funds to offer
logistical support including child
care and transportation for those
who need access to abortion services.
The $1,000,000 will allow the Department
of Public Health to provide grants
to community partners who can better
assist their clients in getting the
reproductive services they need,
including abortions.
The funds will not be used to
assist abortion services or use to
encourage or counsel or procedure.
Arqa funds,
formerly known as the American
Rescue Plan Act funds may be used
to respond to the far reaching
public health and negative economic
impacts of the pandemic,
including supporting the health
of our communities.
This money will ensure women,
especially those who cannot afford
or otherwise do not have access
to quality health care that they
can get the care that they need.
In 10 days,
the County Council will meet to
decide how to best spend the counties
remaining $74 million in ARCA funds.
And I hope that $1,000,000 of
those funds will help those who
need access but no longer have it.
Thanks to that last week's court decision.
Public health departments or safety Nets.
Ensuring those who are uninsured
or underinsured have access
to healthcare services.
Reproductive and sexual health
services are critical piece of
the Health department's mission.
The Department of Public Health
is uniquely positioned to work
with community partners for the
logistical support that will be
possible with these arqa funds.
Back in March,
during Women's History Month,
I signed an executive order
committing Saint Louis County to
the reproductive and sexual health
services it currently provides while
working to expand the services
in an equitable way to address
health and racial disparities.
We knew that the Supreme
Court decision was imminent.
We did not want it to be uncertainty
on the future of public health.
The executive order states in
part that there shall continue
to be a program administered by
the Department of Public Health
to improve information and access
to quality contraceptive service.
And that program shall include
expanded training and patient counseling.
Racial bias training and comprehensive
contraceptive clinical training.
Through the executive order
signed nearly four months ago,
the Department of Public
Health is strengthening its
partnership with the Missouri
Family Health Council and
exploring additional partners
and funding opportunities.
And the department is working to
increase promotion of the availability
of reproductive health services.
Public health has been a budget cut for
Republican administrations for years.
And the lack of funding has taken
its toll on providing the most
basic health care services to
those who need them the most.
Last week's court decision hurts
the vulnerable that much more,
and some of the services and
the Department of Public Health
provides include family planning,
counseling and options.
Nutrition services annual exams and
screenings for predominantly female cancers.
The service is related to pregnancy
and childbirth are integrated
into primary care services.
And testing and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections are also an
important role of the health department.
Through our three community health
centers and the Justice Center,
about 1500 patients received these
services in care every year.
And about 3/4 of them are black and the
majority live in high poverty neighborhoods.
The US Department of Health and Human
Services has identified reducing the
national rate of unintended pregnancy
as a critical step to improving health.
And unintended childbearing is
associated with smoking and
drinking during pregnancy.
Premature birth and higher rates
of child neglect and maltreatment.
The majority of the United States
believes in a woman's right to choose,
and I'm certainly in that majority.
And that's why I'm going
to do all I can to help.
Those are being left behind by
this recent court decision.
The future chapters of our country's
history must provide not only hope,
but commitments that shall we do not
leave our most vulnerable behind
in the name of political gain.
And please have with me today.
Saint Louis County Prosecuting Attorney
Wesley Bell and Lord Knocky board
president approach Choice Missouri
and they'll both make a few remarks.
I'll keep my remarks brief.
For those who are.
Pay attention to the news and I
anticipate this group is in that category.
We have a lot going on in our office,
but I thought that it was important
that that I'd be here today
along with the County Executive,
the Board President of Pro Choice,
to make clear where we stand
and we stand with women to have
autonomy over their own bodies,
their reproductive rights.
And I am very happy.
That not only the same was County
Executive and the County Council myself,
but even our residents stand
with us on this issue.
I find that this ruling is terribly,
terribly misguided and dangerous from
a from a criminal justice standpoint,
prosecutors are mandated to
protect public policy by seeking
accountability for those who
endanger our safety and prosperity,
and in no way.
Does someone making decisions
about their own health and
their own reproductive rights?
Endangered the safety of anyone.
We believe that is in the best
interests of public safety for
abortion to be legal and regulated.
By criminalizing and therefore,
and thereby be regulating,
abortion is the Missouri Legislative
Missouri Legislature not safe in previously
legal abortion providers that have
endangered public safety and reserve.
And so, again, I commend my counterparts
in Saint Louis County and and
obviously the work of Pro Choice,
Missouri and other reproductive
rights organizations and,
and we want to be clear
that we stand with them.
Thank you.
Good morning hello. I'm Laura nakki.
I'm President of Pro Choice Missouri,
the largest statewide pro abortion grassroots
organization dedicated to promoting full
and equal access to reproductive choices.
This includes preventing
unintended pregnancies,
choosing safe legal, abortion,
and bearing healthy children.
I'm also a Saint Louis County resident
and a licensed clinical social worker.
I work with pregnant people who need support.
I support my patients and all of their
decisions and pregnancy outcomes.
The Supreme Court decision last
week was devastating.
Even prior to Friday's news,
people often traveled hundreds
of miles to access abortion.
Now they would put in the position
of fleeing the state to access care
and assuming the legal risk to self
management abortion are carrying
an unwanted pregnancy to term and
all the complications and increased
health risks that come with that.
For many of my patients,
long standing impacts of generational trauma,
institutional racism.
And economic insecurity have created
barriers to accessing healthcare.
Now, with Missouri's abortion ban in place,
there'll be more anxiety and distrust
and fear in the healthcare setting.
Fear for both an individual's bodily
autonomy and fear of prosecution
for pregnancy outcomes.
As with all attacks on abortion,
this ban will fall hardest on black people,
rural communities.
People living paycheck to paycheck.
People with disabilities, young people,
and our LGBTQ plus communities.
But this effort today is an
important step in rebuilding trust.
Trust in our communities.
Trust in our healthcare system
and trust in leadership.
We hope that we are rebuilding
abortion access for Missourians.
The goal this effort is to address
these inequities in access to
healthcare and support pregnant
people in all of their options.
The same person across the reproductive
life has a variety of needs from
carrying a pregnancy to term,
choosing abortion,
and experiencing a miscarriage.
The research and community outreach
led by Pro Choice Missouri to support
the development of this bill has
been the works for all over a year.
Both in anticipation of the very
real loss of abortion access.
And and to address the parallel public
health crisis as a COVID-19 pandemic,
the maternal mortality crisis.
And now the abortion access crisis.
The county's commitment today will help
ensure that all Saint Louis's have the
support they need to access abortion care.
This proposal addresses
logistical access such as travel,
lodging and childcare,
which are often the greatest barriers
to getting to an appointment and now
will be even greater given the increased
burden of traveling out of state.
This is a powerful example of
Saint Louis leadership that we
hope the nation will follow.
An example of what a public health
response response should look like.
Community directed and responsive.
Putting dollars and back into the
hands of providers in our region so
they can better serve our community.
All abortions are life saving,
and all abortion reasons are valid.
I know that the following weeks
and months are going to be
exceptionally hard for our community.
But I have hope standing here today
with our leaders that we can better
support Saint Louis's and accessing all
the reproductive health care choices.
Thanks, and I'd be glad
to answer any questions.
That the arc of funds that you're
setting aside are hoping to.
Are you expecting some sort
of legal action after that?
Or what are you expecting in terms of what
the age you would do?
So the question is what to expect
from the Attorney General's Office?
I don't really know what to expect.
We're here to protect the health and welfare
of the residents of Saint Louis County.
We'll move forward in the way we think is the
best for residents of Saint Louis County.
And we'll see what happens.
Money in this way followed the
guidelines that the federal government
set out about what's appropriate and
inappropriate for use of that money.
So the question is about whether
or not our funds,
if I can paraphrase whether or not
our funds are can be used for this
purpose and we believe they can,
we studied this quite a bit
over the past few days,
as long as as well as other folks,
the interpretation of the attorneys in
the city of Saint Louis is the same.
But there is a pathway to use ARCA
funds to help women who are trying to.
And make it difficult decision we
will not participate in counseling.
We will not participate in
paying for abortion services.
State law is clear and we
will follow the state law.
But we do believe that our funds can
be used to support transportation
or childcare or other other type of
activity for women who are making a
very difficult decision and and are
going to have a difficult pathway to do it.
The Council last night proved a
resolution to getting the overturn overly
standing for women's right to choose.
Do you think you'll get support from the
Democratic majority for this proposal?
So the question is about the whether or
not we'll get support from the Council.
I believe that we will.
I believe this is.
Small piece of the artful funds.
It's important it's important to
protect the health and welfare of
residents of Saint Louis County and
abortion is healthcare and this
is this is a part of what we do.
There is a limited role that local
government accounting government can
play in this conversation and we'll
find that role and and we will pursue.
Question for Mr Helper.
So are you saying that if a
doctor performs an abortion
and it's not a medical emergency
and they have violated the
state law the way it's written,
that you will not prosecute that doctor
and talk about choosing which laws
you believe are valid and not valid
to to prosecute those who violate the
one thing that we we all understand has been
litigated is the discretion of prosecutors.
We have limited resources and prosecutors
every day make decisions on how to
best utilize those. Resources our.
Priority from the very day that I walked into
this office is violent and serious offenses.
And and defenders and
prosecuting those cases.
And in a case like this,
in a in a situation like you explained,
with respect to abortion providers
and things of that nature there
there is no public safety concern.
There's no public safety issue,
matter of fact, quite the opposite.
This is about protecting our residents,
protecting those,
making that difficult choice.
And we will use our discretion accordingly.
Mr. Gallop, do you expect
that could change though?
But like Doctor Page mentioned
by the Attorney General.
Well, could it change?
I mean, would state law supersede
what you can do on the local level?
I I can't speak to.
What the state legislature will do as
far as our office and what I can control.
We intend to utilize our resources in
the manner that I that I alluded to with
respect to serious and violent offenders.
I'll give you a perfect example.
We've we've been very vocal
about our diversion programs,
and we have the ability to prosecute
low level drug possessors someone.
There's a small amount of marijuana.
We have the ability to prosecute them,
but I think Saint Louis County residents
and nationally I think we've seen
that that is not the best use of our
resources and does not keep us safe.
It does not help people,
and those are our guiding
principles and they will continue.
There's no questions for me. I'm going
to give back to the court courthouse.
How would the proposal is standard item
$1,000,000 in federally don't?
Is there any estimated timeline for how
long that money could be? There is.
Could this be there for a year or two
as long as it takes OK?
So the questions about the details of
the proposal and the proposal is just
that we're starting a conversation.
We will coordinate our programming
with the City of Saint Louis.
They will have very similar program and
we'll align those as much as possible.
We will first wait for the approval
of the County Council and then
we will create a program in the
City of Saint Louis that will.
It will follow the pathway of
Oracle funds Archway funds.
Our funds are time limited so
you know we will be able to use
them until they expire.
Carter Page what is the
County Council doesn't?
Doesn't go along with you that way,
so the question is why did the County
Council doesn't approve this funding
for other than it won't happen
because County Council appropriates
all funds in Saint Louis County
and they the approval of County
Council is required to give us
permission to spend money on anything.
And this is 1 proposal that's in
front of the County Council,
and they'll make that decision.
I, I believe that the the County
Council is headed in this direction,
and I'm here to say that if they
pass this legislation that it will
have my support and I will work to
implement the programming and the
support that's required to make these
this type of resource available
to women in Saint Louis County
that's consistent with state law.
Can you respond to Councilman Fitch?
Last night he said that you were doing
this essentially as a campaign ploy.
Well the question is responding to
Councilman Fitch and, you know,
Councilman Fitch has been a
reliable political opponent
since before the last election.
And has a weekly criticism.
I don't expect that to change,
but this is not the time for politics
and cynicism about what the county
is doing to protect the health and
welfare of people in Saint Louis County.
This is not about him.
This is about protecting the
health and welfare of women in
Saint Louis County who are facing
some very difficult decisions
in their lives moving forward.
Because of this Supreme Court decision.
With this ban, I think there's
confusion on contraception.
Has the health department seen
an increase of calls or anything
of of concern in that matter?
And what's going on?
So the question is about the
confusion around contraception.
You bet there is a lot of confusion and.
That's one thing this decision did,
and the current state law in Missouri
has done his great confusion.
I can tell you, as a doctor that
contraception is not abortion.
It's very different and I hope that
we expend a lot of resources in our
Community and our state to clear that up,
clear up questions around Plan B,
clear questions around IUD's and
other forms of birth control.
There's a, there's a lot of there's a
lot of conversation that we need to have,
but contraception is not abortion.
Any questions, OK thank you.