Missouri
Missouri bill would give custody of disputed embryos to person likeliest to create child • Missouri Independent
When Jalesia Kuenzel’s twin sons turned 16 last year, she was also thinking of the children that could have been.
Four embryos were created when she and her ex-husband were going through in vitro fertilization. Two became her sons. The other two remain frozen in a storage facility in Pennsylvania.
It’s been nearly a decade since Kuenzel’s divorce led to a legal fight that garnered national attention as she fought for custody of the embryos. She’s now 52, remarried and living in De Soto.
“These are wanted embryos,” Kuenzel said. “These are embryos that have been deliberately created by the parents because they chose to be parents. It’s not something you do by accident.”
A Missouri court ultimately ruled the embryos were property that couldn’t be used without the consent of both Kuenzel and her ex-husband.Need to get in touch?
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As a result, Kuenzel took to activism. She wants to change Missouri law, and sees the new political landscape, which includes a near total ban on abortion, as an opportunity to jumpstart the conversation.
Kuenzel opposes abortion, and she appreciates the support she’s received over the years from anti-abortion organizations.
But she doesn’t want her fight to get wrapped up in the issue.
“It’s really about trying to protect these women and some men,” she said, “who wanted their children, their embryos, and still do.”
Last year, Kuenzel reached out to state Rep. Adam Schwadron, a Republican from St. Charles who she met two decades ago at the Creve Coeur Township Republican Organization meetings.
Schwadron agreed to file a bill that would require embryo custody disputes to be decided by a court in favor of the person most likely to create a child from the embryos. Similar legislation has also been filed by state Sen. Karla Eslinger, a Republican from Wasola.
Both bills would mandate courts to presume the “best interests of the embryo” are to grant custody to the person who “intends to develop the embryo to birth.”
The legislation was first introduced in 2017, when it was passed by a House committee near the end of the legislative session. Its progress stalled after that, and it hasn’t regained momentum in subsequent years.
“I am pro-life and I see a frozen embryo can still become a life,” Schwadron, who is running for Missouri secretary of state, told The Independent. “ … If that life is wanted, it will be loved and it will be nurtured.”
Critics, however, say the idea raises serious concerns over consent and personhood.
The latter remains central to some anti-abortion movement efforts after the constitutional right to abortion was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022. Personhood was written into Georgia’s abortion ban, where women can now claim a tax exemption on fetuses with a detectable heartbeat. Organizations like the American Society for Reproductive Medicine have warned that personhood laws could criminalize some contraceptives and restrict infertility treatments.
“I see children coming into being without being wanted by one of their genetic forebearers,” Mary Beck, a law professor at the University of Missouri, said of the Missouri legislation. “Surely no one thinks that’s a good thing.”
A legal battle over embryos
In vitro fertilization was both lengthy and emotionally and financially draining for Kuenzel.
In the U.S., an estimated one in five women of child-bearing years who’ve never birthed experience infertility, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In vitro fertilization can often be a solution, and it’s estimated there are at least one million embryos sitting frozen across the country — and the number is growing.
Embryos are created when two individuals undergo IVF, or the process of fertilizing an egg with sperm outside of the womb. An embryo is created, and typically frozen until the couple wants to implant the embryo in a womb.
Before they began the process at the fertility clinic, both Kuenzel, whose last name at the time was McQueen, and her then-husband signed paperwork agreeing that in the case of divorce, she would get any remaining embryos, Kuenzel said.
A court would later decide the contract was invalid.
Through IFV, they successfully created four embryos. Two became their twin boys.
When their marriage fell apart, Kuenzel wanted the embryos because she wanted more children. Her ex-husband did not want another child.
The case went to court where Kuenzel won support from anti-abortion groups like the Thomas More Society and Missouri Right to Life.
A representative of the Thomas More Society at the time argued that embryos were “living beings” rather than property, and as such, legal standards had to be in the embryos’ best interest.
The courts ultimately decided in 2015 that under Missouri law, the embryos were marital property rather than children. Custody of the embryos was awarded jointly to Kuenzel and her ex-husband, meaning they could only be used if both agreed.
‘Force people to procreate’
Beck, the University of Missouri law professor who has written on the topic of embryo custody, recently assigned her students to read Schwadron and Eslinger’s bills for a class on sex reproduction and the law.
“If cryopreserved, pre-implantation embryos are marital property, then I don’t know how these bills can classify these embryos as having a ‘best interest,’” Beck said.
The only state to enact such a law is Arizona, which did so in 2017.
Beck said the Arizona law is unconstitutional.
“If you force people to procreate, then you force someone to pay child support,” Beck said. “You essentially give them care and custody of a child that they don’t want to come into existence, so I find it a very troublesome existence.”
She noted Missouri’s legislation would allow for parental rights to be terminated, which would exclude the unwilling participant from paying child support.
Beck fears despite this, such legislation would create a chilling effect, leaving some people second-guessing whether to create embryos in the first place.
She also sees the legislation as “attempting a backdoor approach to giving personhood to embryos.”
The fight to grant fetal personhood, which would grant legal rights at the point of conception, has picked up steam as the next frontier for the anti-abortion movement.
Rita Gitchell, an attorney who represented the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, argued in the friend-of-the-court brief filed in Kuenzel’s lawsuit that life begins at conception and embryos are human beings.
Now she’s arguing the Missouri bills are personhood bills for the same reason. Gitchell told The Independent, “because human beings should have more protected rights than property rights. We’re not fighting over property, we’re fighting over human beings.”
Schwadron said any claim that his bill is an attempt to establish fetal personhood is false because Missouri statute already says life begins at conception.
But others aren’t so sure.
“What we’re seeing is anti-choice legislators who have run out of things to do,” said Sean Tipton, chief advocacy and policy officer for American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
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Tipton said it’s worth noting that the latest re-filing of the bill in Missouri came shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
“There are people who have a political interest in equating a fertilized egg in a laboratory with an existing child,” he said. “We think that comparison is invalid scientifically, constitutionally and legally.”
Ultimately, he said, the decision should be left to the people involved in creating the embryo and no one else.
“It shouldn’t be a judge. It shouldn’t be a politician,” Tipton said. “Those people shouldn’t decide what’s going to happen to the reproductive tissues of the citizens of Missouri.”
To his knowledge, Arizona’s embryo custody law has not yet been challenged in court.
Chani Levertov, the founder of Fruitful, an organization based in Arizona that supports those struggling with infertility, said the new law has not affected the work her organization does.
“We offer support to those navigating infertility and it has never come up,” she said in an email.
‘Give them a chance to be born’
While her case was playing out in court, Kuenzel created an organization called Embryo Defense. She said she still gets messages from people – mostly women, and mostly older – who ask if they’re crazy for wanting to keep their embryos. Kuenzel tells them they’re not.
Kuenzel brushed aside arguments that the legislation she’s pushing would force some people to become parents.
“That’s the whole reason for doing IVF is to be a parent,” she said. “ … It’s not something you do by accident.”
In 2016, Kuenzel made frequent appearances in newspapers and on TV stations as she pleaded her case to national audiences. At one point, she said, one of her sons looked at her and said he was glad he was one of the embryos to “get out.”
That off-hand comment comes to mind when she thinks about the embryos sitting in the cryobank in Pennsylvania, she said, which she named Noah and Genesis.
If custody were granted to her tomorrow, Kuenzel said she’d implant the embryos. If she were able to obtain custody after menopause, she said she would donate them to someone trying to grow their family.
“Give them a chance to be born,” Kuenzel said. “That’s my job as a mother. They’re very well wanted and loved by me.”
Spring baseball in Missouri is officially off and running, and through the first two-plus weeks of the 2026 season, the state’s landscape is already taking shape. Defending state champions are proving they belong. Undefeated small-school programs are making noise. Blue-chip programs that entered the year with high expectations are adjusting to the reality of a competitive schedule.
These rankings incorporate every available analytical lens: official MSHSAA win-loss records and run differential data,. The result is the most complete statewide picture available at this stage of the 2026 season, across all six classifications.
One number tells this story early: run differential. The teams at the top of this list are not just winning — they are winning by margins that signal a gap between other teams. This is Missouri baseball in April. There is a lot left to be decided.
1. Rock Bridge (10-1)
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The Bruins lead all of Missouri with 10 wins, and they have done it the right way — against competition. Rock Bridge is putting up 7.73 runs per game while holding opponents to 4.36, producing a margin of victory of 3.36 across 11 games. That consistency is the product of a program that went 30-7 last year and returned the infrastructure intact.
2. Blue Springs South (7-2)
The defending Class 6 state champion, and they are still the standard. One loss came against Kansas No. 4 Olathe East in a narrow pitcher’s duel — a quality out-of-state defeat that only strengthens their résumé. The Jaguars are scoring 9.78 runs per game, the highest offensive rate of any team in this top 25. Blue Springs South is a legitimate No. 1 argument; the two losses keep them here for now.
3. Jackson (9-1)
Jackson is averaging 8.8 runs per game while surrendering just 2.1 — a run differential of 6.7 that ranks among the best in the state across any classification. Their pitching staff is tremendous. The one loss is the analytical anchor holding them from the top; the numbers otherwise say No. 1.
4. Willard Tigers (10-2)
The Tigers continue their dominant run in southwest Missouri. Ten wins through 12 games, with 104 runs scored against just 36 allowed — a margin of 5.67 per game. Willard’s pitching has been as advertised, and Matthew Angel remains one of the most complete position players in the state. The Wildcats’ only notable blemish was a 6-4 loss to Logan-Rogersville — a team that sits inside this top 10 itself. That loss tells you how competitive the top of the state is right now.
5. Fort Zumwalt West (8-3)
Fort Zumwalt West made a statement after defeating Francis Howell to claim the Troy Buchanan Tournament Championship, and the wins over Seckman, Timberland, and Westminster Christian add real value to the résumé. The Jaguars are 8-3 with 62 runs scored and 45 allowed — a modest 1.55 margin that reflects the level of competition they have played. A Class 6 postseason threat with proven results against quality opponents.
6. Eureka (8-2)
One of the fastest-rising programs in the state. Eureka has climbed four spots in the MaxPreps algorithm and sits 8-2 through 10 games with an 8.6 strength of schedule — the highest of any program in this tier. Ace Jaxson Joggerst (Indiana commit) is one of the elite arms in Missouri, and Craig Ringe anchors the offense. The Wildcats are built to peak in May, and they are already showing the profile of a deep playoff run.
7. Francis Howell (7-4)
The Vikings have had a bumpy early season by their own lofty standards, dropping to 7-4 after losses to Edwardsville (IL) and a Fort Zumwalt West squad that took the Troy Buchanan Tournament Championship in the process. But context matters here: Francis Howell has played one of the most demanding schedules in Class 6, and a 7-4 record against that slate is not a collapse. The Vikings need a signature win to stabilize their ranking, but they have the roster to deliver one.
8. Nixa (10-3)
No team in Missouri has played more games than Nixa, and with 10 wins, they have made the most of it. The Eagles are averaging 8.46 runs per game. Their schedule is the toughest of any team in the top five. Three losses against that competition is not a problem; it is a credential. RHP Jackson Gamble and multi-sport standout Adam McKnight are the engines of a well-constructed roster.
9. Lafayette (8-2)
This program demands recognition. Lafayette (Wildwood) is putting up 7.7 runs per game against an OPPG of just 3.7 — a margin of 4.0 through 10 games. Senior Chase Roeder has been a standout in the batters box with 12 hits and 11 RBIs. This is one of the best Class 6 team right now.
10. Vianney (8-2)
Vianney has a record of 8-2 with 54 runs scored and just 19 allowed, good for an OPPG of 1.9 that is the lowest of any top-25 team in this piece. A margin of victory of 3.5 reflects a pitching staff and defense that simply do not give games away. Senior Logan DeClue remains the offensive catalyst. The Griffins remain a legitimate Class 5 state title contender.
11. Logan-Rogersville (8-1)
Logan-Rogersville has officially claimed the No. 1 small-school spot, with their résumé highlighted by an impressive 6-4 victory over Class 5’s Willard, with their only blemish being a loss to a rising Licking squad. The Wildcats are scoring 8.11 runs per game against 2.67 allowed — a 5.44 margin — and carry the highest strength of schedule index of any small-school program tracked. An 8-1 record with that kind of résumé is as good as it gets at this stage.
12. Liberty North (7-2)
The Eagles are 7-2 with 81 runs scored and 42 allowed — a 4.33 margin of victory — against a Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference schedule that does not offer any soft spots. Their experience from last season is showing. Every win on the ledger has been earned. A big stretch of conference play is ahead, and this is the kind of team that gets better as the schedule gets harder.
13. Marquette (8-1)
The biggest mover in Missouri this season. Marquette is 8-1 out of Chesterfield with 78 runs scored against just 41 allowed — a margin of 4.11 per game. For a program that was a preseason question mark, this start demands full attention. One of the most impressive early stories in the state.
14. Fort Zumwalt East (6-1)
Fort Zumwalt East has a 6.57 margin of victory (8.57 RPG, 2.0 OPPG). Six wins against one loss, and they are holding opponents to 14 total runs across seven games. Performance agaisnt a schedule that will only get tougher is a key factor to watch.
15. Harrisonville (5-0)
The only undefeated team across all of Class 4, and the numbers are stunning. Harrisonville is outscoring opponents by 7.2 runs per game — the highest margin of victory of any team in Class 4. They are scoring 10.6 runs per game while allowing just 3.4. The Wildcats are the biggest sleeper in these rankings and a program worth watching all the way to the state tournament.
16. SLUH (7-2)
St. Louis University High is 7-2 with 63 runs scored and just 24 allowed — an OPPG of 2.67 that ranks among the best in Class 6. A 4.33 margin of victory reflects a pitching staff that consistently dominates, and the Billikens’ offensive core led by Jack Friedman and Cole Chambers gives them a balanced threat on both sides of the ball. A top-10 caliber team when their full schedule comes together.
17. Moberly (10-1)
A potential top Class 4 team. Moberly is 10-1 with 61 runs scored and just 27 allowed. The Spartans have been stellar this spring, securing key wins over Boonville and Southern Boone. Their SOS remains the one concern but the volume of wins and coaches’ validation cannot be ignored.
18. Chillicothe (8-1)
A program that looks like a Class 4 state title contender. Chillicothe is scoring 10.56 runs per game while allowing 3.11 producing a 7.44 margin of victory. This has been a dominant start, outscoring opponents by a massive margin. The Hornets are built to win big and doing exactly that. A top-15 candidate with more schedule tests ahead.
19. Liberty (8-2)
Liberty may be the most quietly impressive Class 6 team in Missouri right now. An 8-2 record with 67 runs scored against 46 allowed — a 2.1 margin of victory — does not leap off the page statistically, but their schedule does. The Eagles have played a demanding Kansas City-area slate and collected wins over Kearney, Lee’s Summit West, Lee’s Summit, and Grain Valley. A big game against Staley is on the horizon. Liberty is for real.
20. Rockwood Summit (7-3)
Rockwood Summit has been one of the steadier Class 5 programs in the St. Louis corridor this spring, sitting at 7-3 with 89 runs scored and 47 allowed — a 4.2 margin of victory across 10 games. The Falcons are putting up 8.9 runs per game, among the higher offensive outputs in Class 5. Three losses against top teams keep them toward the bottom of this list for now, but this is a team with the offensive firepower to make noise when the district bracket is set in May.
21. Oakville (7-3)
The Tigers are scoring 7.2 runs per game with a 3.3 margin of victory — steady, consistent production from a roster that does not beat itself. Every win Oakville has collected came against programs with postseason aspirations of their own. This is a well-coached team that plays within its identity and has the depth to sustain a run deep into May. Do not sleep on the Tigers.
22. Platte County (8-4)
Platte County has been one of the busier programs in Class 5 this spring, playing 12 games and collecting eight wins against a schedule that includes legitimate Kansas City-area competition. The Pirates are scoring 6.92 runs per game with an 8-4 record that reflects a team still finding its ceiling. This team has the DNA of a district contender and has been battle-tested in ways that teams with softer early schedules have not.
23. Lindbergh (3-6-1)
Lindbergh earns a spot here on program trajectory and the strength of the Suburban South Conference schedule they navigate every season. The Flyers are a St. Louis-area Class 6 program that consistently develops talent and competes deep into May, and early indications in 2026 suggest another competitive run is taking shape. Lindbergh’s path to a district title runs through some of the better programs in the area, and how they handle that gauntlet over the next three weeks will determine whether they rise significantly in the next edition of these rankings.
24. Rockhurst (7-4)
Rockhurst belongs in this conversation. Head coach Will Gorden brings experience to a program that returned multiple varsity players who got meaningful reps at a young age last season, and returning pitchers give Rockhurst the rotation depth to sustain a long postseason run.
25. Seckman (7-5)
The Jaguars appeared on the résumé of Fort Zumwalt West which speaks to the level of competition Seckman has been willing to schedule early. Playing tough opponents and absorbing early losses is a strategy that pays dividends by May. Seckman has the roster pieces to be a postseason factor in a loaded Class 6 field, and this ranking is as much a projection as it is a reflection of what they have done so far.
Missouri baseball earned its first series win of Southeastern Conference play on Sunday by taking a 5-4 win over No. 24 Kentucky in Game 3 of the series.
It’s the first time since 2014 that the Tigers won a series against Kentucky in Lexington. The win puts Missouri at three conference wins on the season, marking the total it earned through all of 2025.
The win was built off a massive, four-run inning from the Tigers in the fifth to take the lead it would hold onto for the remainder of the game. The first run came off of a sac-fly from Kam Durnin. The final run was scored with the bases loaded when freshman Juliomar Campos drew a walk.
Freshman pitcher Sam Rosand made his first career start for the Tigers, allowing two runs and five hits in four innings. Meanwhile, Juan Villarreal and Eli Skidmore closed out the game to help the Tigers hold on to their lead.
The win came off the heels of a 9-2 loss on Saturday. The Tigers earned a 5-4 win in Game 1.
Missouri will return to play early in the week for an in-state matchup, hosting Missouri State at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
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In a wide-ranging interview, Washington University Chancellor Andrew D. Martin discussed the university’s engagement with the Trump administration, financial challenges, the acquisition of the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, the implementation of Workday, the decline in international graduate student enrollment, the use of artificial intelligence, and emergency preparedness following a recent armed person alert on campus.
Why it matters
As a leading research institution, WashU’s relationship with federal policymakers and its ability to navigate financial uncertainties have significant implications for the university’s future. The chancellor’s comments provide insight into how the school is adapting to evolving challenges in higher education.
The details
Chancellor Martin detailed WashU’s efforts to advocate for issues like research funding and protecting endowments through engagement with Congress and the Trump administration. He also explained the university’s steps to improve its financial position, including pausing capital projects, cutting central administration expenses, and the strategic acquisition of the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Additionally, Martin discussed the university’s transition to the Workday system and the decline in international graduate student enrollment, which has put financial pressure on some master’s programs.
- The chancellor met with the Trump administration in the fall to discuss issues important to WashU.
- In his State of the University address, Martin said the university is in a stronger financial position than a year ago.
The players
Andrew D. Martin
The chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, leading the university through a period of financial and policy challenges.
Mark West
The provost of Washington University, leading the university’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into the curriculum.
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
A pharmacy school that WashU recently acquired, a “once-in-a-century opportunity” according to the chancellor.
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What they’re saying
“To be clear, the conversations with the administration weren’t explicitly about the compact. They were about the importance of American higher education, the importance of academic freedom, the importance of research funding, the importance of protecting our endowments so we can fund professorships and student scholarships and the like.”
— Andrew D. Martin, Chancellor
“I was scared and completely freaked out. The safety and security of this campus is our most important responsibility.”
— Andrew D. Martin, Chancellor
What’s next
The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.
The takeaway
This interview highlights the complex challenges facing a major research university like WashU, from navigating federal policy changes and financial constraints to ensuring campus safety and preparing students for the rise of artificial intelligence. The chancellor’s comments suggest the university is taking a thoughtful, strategic approach to addressing these issues while upholding its core academic mission.
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