Missouri
A Missouri law forbids pregnant women from divorce. A proposed bill looks to change that.
A bill aims to protect pregnant women who may be in domestic violence situations. Those facing domestic abuse can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
A controversial law in Missouri doesn’t allow pregnant women to get divorced. The legislation has been in place for 50 years, but there is now a push by a Democratic state representative to overturn it.
The state’s law was initially meant to “prevent what the courts consider the ‘bastardization’ of a child,” Missouri House Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat who represents the 14th district in Kansas City, told USA TODAY.
The law was aimed at protecting families and basically made it illegal for pregnant couples to get a divorce before the mother gives birth.
Aune sponsored House Bill 2402. The bill has bipartisan support and is co-sponsored by Rep. Richard Brown (Democrat, 27 District), Rep. Jeff Farnan (Republican, 1 District) and Rep. Sherri Gallick (Republican, 62 District).
The bill would allow “the court to enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal separation if a person is pregnant.” In layman’s terms, it would give pregnant woman the ability to get a divorce finalized.
“Women are terrified for a million other reasons, let’s not give them one more,” said Aune. “Let’s give [women] a break.”
Law could lead to dangerous domestic violence situations
Aune says the issue was brought to her attention by Synergy Services, a Missouri shelter that provides women and their families a safe haven from violent situations.
“The intents [of the law] were noble and I can respect where they came from, however when we know better, we do better,” said Aune. “We know domestic violence is all too common, and one really distressing type of domestic violence is reproductive coercion, and often what that looks like is either an insistence or denial of pregnancy termination and sabotaging birth control.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines reproductive coercion as “behavior that interferes with contraception use and pregnancy.” It is also commonly called “baby trapping” and can happen to both women and men.
Domestic violence: Minnesota shooting highlights dangers on calls for first responders and victims
Domestic violence advocate says the law gives abusers an advantage
Sara Brammer, the VP of Domestic Violence Services at Synergy Services in Kansas City, said that abusers are very conscious of this law and can use it to keep their spouses from divorcing them.
Brammer is responsible for Synergy’s domestic violence shelter and domestic violence housing program. She also directs Synergy’s Offender Intervention Program.
Around 80% of the people in the program were referred to the program via the court. The time spent in it ranges from 26 to 58 weeks and varies based on how high a survivor’s risk of death is from the violence they experienced. The program consists of seven groups made up of 12 to 15 people each that meet each week.
“I have heard it on both sides that both women feel coerced and not able to divorce, and men are conscious to the fact that [women] can’t get divorced when they’re pregnant,” Brammer told USA TODAY. “And they use that against their partner.”
Brammer said one of the men who was in the program tracked his wife’s ovulation cycle on his cell phone so he could make sure she was always pregnant while she was with him.
“We’re talking about something that is absolutely very coercive and manipulative,” said Brammer. “And there’s a law that supports that.”
She continues on to say that the law not only makes it more difficult for people to leave abusive situations, but it makes the people in those situations feel “powerless.”
Proposed bill is a way out of ‘bad situations’ for women and men, Rep. Aune says
“I have seen friends whose partners [were] incredible partners until they got pregnant, and then all of a sudden they became monsters,” said Aune
Aune said it’s time to give people another option to get out of marriages like the examples she gave. She believes this house bill will help men and women get out of “bad situations” that they are stuck in because of a pregnancy.
Aune said that since this bill gained publicity, men on Reddit are speaking up and saying that this law prevented them from getting out of their marriages.
One example Aune gave was a man whose wife became pregnant when he was deployed overseas.
“There’s obviously no way he was the father,” said Aune. “He was overseas, but he couldn’t divorce his wife.”
According to Aune, if a man’s wife is pregnant, he can’t leave her because the state automatically assumes he is the baby’s father because of their marriage.
A different Reddit user said that despite being separated from his wife, he wasn’t able to divorce her when she got pregnant with the man she was living with at the time of the separation. He says they weren’t allowed to divorce until the baby was born.
Next steps for the proposed bill that would overturn Missouri divorce law
The bill now heads to a House committee for a vote in order to advance. If that happens, next steps in the legislative process will include approval by the full state House and full state Senate. From there, it would end up on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature to officially become a law.
What other states have a divorce law like Missouri’s?
Currently, four states have bans that prevent pregnant women from getting divorced:
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Missouri
- Texas
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture. You can follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A man is dead after an argument inside a south Kansas City home escalated into a shooting overnight, police say.
The Kansas City Police Department says it responded to the 11500 block of Belmont Ave. just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, after reports of a shooting.
Officers indicate that they arrived to find an unresponsive man inside a vehicle parked in front of a residence. They rendered aid until EMS arrived and took over.
However, the victim was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to authorities.
Investigators say the victim was inside the home when an argument broke out with one or more people. The confrontation continued as he left the home and got into a vehicle – where he was shot.
One person of interest was detained at the scene. Detectives note that they are not looking for any additional suspects at this time.
The shooting is the latest instance of violence in Kansas City on the first official weekend of summer. On Friday night, one person died and five others were injured in a shooting on 19th Street between Paseo and Vine.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — “It’s difficult to call the Battle Line Rivalry a true rivalry when Arkansas has won just twice since Missouri joined the SEC.”
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has made this one matter even more for the Tigers during his time in Columbia due to his Natural State roots.
The Alma native is 5-1 against his home-state with three victories coming by seven points or less.
Silverfield has watched the Razorbacks from just across the river in Memphis, and has noticed a pattern in most of the losses over the years. Turnovers have been a major issue in this series through the years.
Whether it was the Alex Collins fumble in 2014, a blown 24-7 halftime lead in 2016, a 48-45 shootout loss in 2017, allowing Missouri to drive 60 yards in 43 seconds for a walk-off field goal by Harrison Mevis in 2020, or letting Brady Cook sprint 30 yards untouched during the Snowmaggedon game in 2024, the Razorbacks have been allergic to holding onto fourth quarter leads against the Tigers.
The biggest curse of all was Arkansas’ game against Missouri was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, which effectively replaced the Battle of the Golden Boot against LSU. Despite not playing on an annual basis prior to joining the SEC, this game became quite the underrated rivalry not only in the SEC, but nationally with eight games coming down to the final possession from 2005-2013.
Talent Advantage: Missouri
When it comes to talent on the field, this might be Drinkwitz’s deepest team since his arrival at Missouri in 2020. The Tigers have a total of 43 former 4-star prospects and 25 who were rated as 3-stars during their recruitment, according to the Razorbacks on SI offseason Tracker.
Between Austin Simmons at quarterback, Ahmad Hardy in the backfield, Ben Norfleet at tight end and wide receiver Donovan Olugbode there is plenty of firepower to create mismatches in space. Then, Missouri’s defense is fairly deep with linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, safety Santana Banner and defensive lineman Darris Smith.
The Tigers can bring the heat to opposing backfields, field a standout secondary and always seem to have instinctive, hard hitting linebackers. Drinkwitz’s best year came in 2023 with an 11-3 overall record but have yet to officially breakthrough in the SEC.
And with this roster, it’s either time for the Tigers to solidify its place among SEC brethren in 2026 season, or continue its slow path back to mediocrity within the league.
A talent advantage alone won’t always win teams ball games, but one that plays disciplined and understands how to control momentum throughout a game can find ways to win.
The Razorbacks have held the talent edge several times over the years, but still suffered defeat in 2016, 2017 and 2022. Since Missouri joined the SEC, their teams have played with confidence that kept them in games they had no business winning.
Former National Championship winning coach Urban Meyer once said, “Leave no doubt” when it comes to winning at the Power Conference level. Maybe it’s Arkansas’ turn to have a coach whose players are ready to run through a wall for in Silverfield this fall.
The Silverfield Mindset
There’s something to be said about a coach who can motivate his team for the biggest of challenges and overcoming talent deficiencies.
Any team can have the Jimmys and Joes but it all comes down to execution, and that’s something that Arkansas has struggled with over the past several years. Silverfield believes a lot of Arkansas’ struggles came down to a culture of losing, which is something he’ll have to cleanse it of this offseason.
“We’ve had one Power Four win at home the last three years,” Silverfield said in an appearance on McElroy And Cubelic In The Morning radio show earlier this spring. “We have to play more disciplined football. Arkansas has not done a great job with penalties, pre-snap, post-snap, dead ball. Taking care of the football, ball security. That’s been part of some of the failures here.”
Silverfield understands Arkansas’ quickest path to improvement begins with eliminating self-inflicted mistakes. After all, the program is just 17-49 in one possession games since 2012.
Arkansas was close last season to being a very good team last year, but weren’t able to do the small things needed to win games.
The Razorbacks finished last season ranked No. 125 in turnover margin (-11), No. 121 in third down defense (45%), No. 99 in sacks allowed, No. 126 in penalties (7.8 per game) and No. 112 in total penalties showed that a change in leadership was sorely needed.
And the truth is, the Razorbacks might’ve found the right man for the job going into 2026. Arkansas has been close time and time again.
With this game being played on Halloween this fall, it’s possible Arkansas can practice its Houdini act and put the struggles against Missouri behind them once and for all.
Hogs on SI Season Preview Series
North Alabama: Why Week One Matters More Than It Should
Utah: Silverfield Doesn’t Know What Razorbacks Are, Utes Will Provide Answers
Georgia: Razorbacks Might Not Beat Georgia, But Offer Test Kirby Smart Didn’t Expect
Texas A&M: Can Hogs’ Rebuilt Defense Slow Down Marcel Reed?
Tennessee: Razorbacks Must Reclaim Homefield Advantage Against Tennessee
Vanderbilt: Arkansas Might Be Catching Vanderbilt at Right Time in 2026
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One person was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, Friday night, according to police.
Officers heard gunfire just before 10:30 p.m. and responded to the area of East 19th Street between The Paseo and Vine Street, police said. They located two adult women who were “conscious and alert,” along with an adult man who was unresponsive, the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement.
The man, identified as David E. Beck III, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene. The two women were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Three additional victims — a man and a woman in stable condition and another man in critical condition — arrived at the hospital in a private vehicle, police said.
Preliminary information indicates the victims were gathered along 19th Street when multiple people opened fire. “All of the victims appear to have been standing in this vicinity when they were struck,” police said. Detectives are processing evidence and interviewing witnesses. No suspects are in custody.
The shooting took place roughly 7 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, which is hosting World Cup matches this summer under the name Kansas City Stadium. Ecuador and Curaçao are scheduled to play there Saturday night. Kansas City is touted as the “Soccer Capital of America.”
The city already has a large law enforcement presence to assist with World Cup security, including officers from all over the Midwest, Kansas City Police Capt. Jake Becchina told NBC News.
“We have the largest police presence we have ever had in our city for an event,” Becchina said.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact their anonymous tips hotline. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.
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