St. Louis wants to use ARPA funds for abortion access. Could Columbia follow suit?

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen last week took the first steps toward allocating a portion of its share of American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide logistical funding for abortion access.

The fund would provide money for transportation, child care and other help to those seeking abortions outside Missouri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

A similar fund in Columbia is less likely but not necessarily off the table, Andrea Waner, Second Ward council member, wrote in an email this week to the Tribune.

More: Five issues Columbia residents want the city to address with remainder of ARPA funding

"I am anxious to see the final report of the ARPA community survey data and discern whether or not folks in Columbia have identified supporting reproductive health care as a priority for them," Waner wrote, noting the possible allocation of ARPA funds for this purpose has not been discussed among the council.

Columbia residents' top priority for how to use the remaining $12.6 million of the city's share of ARPA funds is community member access to health services, including mental health, according to initial survey results released Thursday.

The Tribune sent inquiries to Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and the entire Columbia City Council regarding the abortion access logistics topic. Waner and First Ward council member Pat Fowler were the only to respond by press time.

If an abortion logistics measure were to come before the city council, Waner would stand in favor, she wrote.

"As a person currently pregnant in the state of Missouri, the situation that many are (or will) find themselves in regarding access to health care is disheartening and enraging," Waner wrote. "I find myself in tears more often than not and will do whatever is needed to support pregnant folks in our community who need assistance."

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Waner noted her understanding that many people may not see a path forward for a municipal government to ease access burdens for those seeking abortions.

"I would welcome a conversation to dig in deeper," she added.

Fowler noted her experience working as a lawyer in Massachusetts and how while there a private network of supporters and funders were relied on to "create a referral network to assist women with legal services in domestic violence situations," she wrote.

"I think there is clearly the opportunity for a similar network of individuals to come together to assist women in Boone County and the outlying rural areas that rely upon Columbia for their reproductive health care needs," Fowler added.

Fowler was among the first generation of women coming of age following the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 allowing safe and legal medical abortion, she noted.

"We each knew someone, as teenagers, who had no choice but to access a non-legal, non-medical abortion," she wrote. "To return to those days is horrific."

Because of the various other needs in the Columbia community that could rely on the city's share of ARPA funds, Fowler is "not aware that the effort to assist women with logistical support to access abortion services, birth control services and reproductive health care services (all important reasons for community support) will be among the items we seek to fund with ARPA funds," she wrote.

"Given the pressing issues we have in Columbia right now, with mental health (crises) on our downtown sidewalks and a civilian oversight board for policing in clear turmoil, I have not followed the needs of other cities in Missouri," Fowler wrote about the proposed St. Louis allocation.

More: These Columbia workforce development programs will receive American Rescue Plan funds

St. Louis Alderman Joe Vaccaro is concerned moving forward with the allocation will lead to that city's pandemic aid funds being tied up in a lengthy court battle, The Associated Press reported.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt already has said he will sue to try to block the measure and one proposed in Kansas City to use city employee health insurance to help with employee travel for out-of-state abortions, the AP reported.

Schmitt, who is running for U.S. Senate after U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt announced his retirement, argues the proposed St. Louis ordinance would violate state law barring public funds being used to perform or assist in abortions that are not medically necessary to save the life of the pregnant person.

Supporters say the money would only be used to provide access to abortion.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community issues and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia considers using ARPA funds for out-of-state abortion access