Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

State Launches Investigation After Missouri Woman Went Public With Denial Of Life-Saving Abortion In Campaign Ad

State Launches Investigation After Missouri Woman Went Public With Denial Of Life-Saving Abortion In Campaign Ad
Trudy Busch Valentine/YouTube

Mylissa Farmer shared her story of having to go to Illinois to get a life-saving abortion after she was denied in Missouri and now the state has launched an investigation.

A campaign ad for Democratic candidate for Missouri Attorney General Trudy Busch Valentine is being cited as the reason the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is now investigating a Missouri hospital.

Mylissa Farmer explained she couldn't get needed medical care at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri in August because of Missouri's strict abortion ban. Farmer had to travel across state lines for the lifesaving medical care.


When she contacted Republican state Senator Bill White for help, he referred her to a Christian anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center for her medically unviable pregnancy. White also promised to talk to state Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt on her behalf.

Farmer never heard from Schmitt’s office.

You can see the ad here:

Banyoutu.be

Describing herself as "pretty pro-life," Farmer took Schmitt to task in the ad for his extreme anti-abortion position. Schmitt boasted about his part in making Missouri the first state to formally ban abortion with a proclamation he issued in June.

Farmer said:

"When my water broke at 17-and-a-half weeks, I found out I was going to lose my daughter, and my Missouri doctors weren’t allowed to give me the care that I needed—all because of the mandate Eric Schmitt put into place."

She added:

"Eric Schmitt doesn’t care about women like me."
"Imposing a mandate that doesn’t have exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the mother, and it could even send women and doctors to jail."
"He’s just too extreme."

In response to Farmer’s ordeal, Busch Valentine told Jezebel:

"[Pregnant people] are less safe today because of [Schmitt]."

The Democrat called Missouri’s abortion ban with no exceptions for incest, rape or the mother's life "cruel, un-American, and dangerous."

She added:

"When seconds count, we cannot tie the hands of doctors and hospitals, forcing them to get on the phone with lawyers while lives hang in the balance."

Missouri’s abortion ban includes an exception for "medical emergencies" threatening the pregnant person’s life, but when prison is a possibility for doctors, pregnant patients are denied care completely or care can be critically or fatally delayed while doctors and hospitals seek legal opinions.







In response to the ad detailing Farmer’s ordeal, Schmitt’s campaign lawyers sent letters to TV stations demanding the ad be taken off the air.

Schmitt’s lawyer wrote:

"You should immediately cease and desist from airing the ad unless and until it is changed to correct these false and misleading statements."
“Ms. Busch Valentine’s campaign likely did not and could not provide substantiation for its false statements."

Then, instead of addressing issues with the state’s abortion ban, Freeman Health System was visited by investigators from the Department of Health and Senior Services and Farmer was questioned by the same state agency.

On Friday, Missouri House Democratic leader Crystal Quade demanded transparency from the state agency about their newly launched investigation. Farmer was treated in August and contacted the state—including Schmitt—at that time through her state Republican senator.

“The timing of this investigation is suspicious and concerning to say the least, and suggests that the substantial taxpayer-funded investigative power of state government is being weaponized against citizens for political retaliation."

Quade wrote in letters to AG Schmitt, Republican Governor Mike Parson and the health department she was told the inquiry focused on the treatment of Mylissa Farmer—admitted August 2—by Freeman Health System. As of Friday afternoon Quade had not received any response to her letters.

Farmer detailed her experience in an October 19 article in the Springfield News-Leader.

Farmer’s water broke on August 2 but her doctor at Freeman Health System in Joplin told her nothing could be done because of Missouri’s strict abortion law. Once the water is broken, the pregnant person and fetus become susceptible to infections that will eventually kill the fetus and could kill the pregnant person or cause infertility.

There is no medical treatment to reversed the effects of the water breaking and no fetus has been viable at 17 1/2 weeks.

.Farmer spent two days calling other states for assistance, Farmer received the medical care she needed on August 6 in Granite City, Illinois.

More from News

Split screen of a woman with a stern reaction and a man with a shocked expression.
@vanessa_p_44/TikTok

Guy Has Priceless Reaction To Learning His Mom Named Him After 'South Park' Character—And We're Obsessed

When it comes time for parents to name their soon-to-be-born child, they often cast a wide net looking for inspiration.

Many will name their child after a beloved friend or family member, while others might choose a name from a classic film, novel, or television series.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Expertly Trolls Trump Administration With Parody Spirit Halloween Costume Memes

California Governor Gavin Newsom had social media users cackling after he, in a series of photos on X, mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with photoshopped meme versions of Spirit Halloween costumes.

Noem, who has led the nationwide immigration crackdown that continues to tear apart families around the country, is the "Border Barbie" of one meme that pokes fun at her for shooting her dog, her penchant for bringing camera crews wherever she goes, and the way South Park writers lampooned her in one of its most widely-seen episodes this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Ethan Hawke Shares Important Lesson He Learned From Robin Williams On Set Of 'Dead Poets Society'

Actor Ethan Hawke has become a Hollywood legend in his own right, but his career started with being a child actor learning from the greats, like Robin Williams.

The two co-starred in Dead Poets Society, one of the greatest films of the 1980s. It was a breakout role for Hawke and one that solidified Williams as a dramatic actor after a career mostly focused on comedy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Screenshot of California's statement
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; cdss.ca.gov

Blue States Are Taking A Page Out Of Trump's Playbook With Alerts About SNAP Benefits

President Donald Trump and his administration are facing criticism as blue states post alerts about the loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a result of the Trump administration's failure to spend contingency funds to feed people on the program, a decision that is resulting in a nationwide hunger crisis impacting millions of families.

State officials have announced plans to inform visitors that if they’re alarmed by the pause in SNAP benefits beginning November 1 due to the shutdown, they should direct their frustration at the Republican Party.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo of a female hand holding up a pink paper heart that is on fire.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Signs A Relationship Is Over Even If The Couple Hasn't Broken Up Yet

Love is a many-splendored thing... until it's not.

Not all love stories have a happy ending.

Keep ReadingShow less