Health

Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised and reduced the childhood immunization schedule, paring down the recommended vaccines. That change won't impact access to vaccinations, but Kansas City health officials believe it will heighten the burden on parents and providers.

Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics can currently perform procedural abortions but state laws limit the scope of care, and medication abortion is blocked. A trial in Jackson County could clarify which state-imposed standards abortion providers must meet.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration canceled $2 billion in grants for mental health and addiction treatment, and then reversed itself almost immediately. "It's just constant whiplash," said the president of First Call KC.

Department of Social Services Director Jessica Bax detailed a plan that could help child abuse investigators make more money by working in more specialized roles.

Missouri voters enshrined the right to an abortion in 2024, but several abortion restrictions remain state law. A Jackson County judge temporarily blocked those laws, and Planned Parenthood is now seeking to permanently strike those laws to ease abortion access.