JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office has obtained a major court victory in defense of Missouri’s unborn children. After Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker sued the Attorney General to dismantle all of Missouri’s pro-life laws, the City of St. Louis’ Circuit Court granted his motion to dismiss the entirety of her challenge.
“Today is a major win for women and their unborn children as a Missouri court sided with our office yet again in our efforts to defend the sanctity of life,” said Attorney General Bailey. “The Court recognized that Jean Peters Baker cannot challenge our pro-life laws. My office will continue to use every tool at its disposal to protect the unborn. Our children are worth the fight.”
Missouri’s law protecting life at all stages of pregnancy took effect a mere six minutes after the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, returning the authority to regulate abortion to the states. In January 2023, abortion activists filed suit against this law and other pro-life laws. Attorney General Bailey filed a motion to dismiss the legal activists’ challenge. On June 30, the Court agreed to dismiss ten of the eleven challenges those activists brought.
Then Jean Peters Baker tried to resurrect those challenges by filing a cross-claim against Attorney General Bailey in the same suit. Today’s court ruling definitively rejects her attempt to dismantle Missouri’s pro-life laws.
The Court’s order granting General Bailey’s motion to dismiss can be read here.