Support Mylissa Farmer

Mylissa Farmer went to her local emergency room in Missouri when her water broke on Aug. 2, 2022, months before her due date. Tests showed that she had lost all of her amniotic fluid because of a complication and doctors told her the fetus would not survive.

Doctors told Mylissa that “awaiting a medical emergency may put her at further risk for maternal mortality” or the complete removal of her uterus. Because the fetus still had a heartbeat she was denied care at the hospital in Missouri. Mylissa was later denied care a second time at a hospital in Kansas. The Kansas denial just happened to be on the same night of the constitutional amendment vote in the state.

Mylissa was told by doctors that the law superseded their medical judgment and “contrary to the most appropriate management based (on) my medical opinion, due to the legal language of MO law, we are unable to offer induction of labor at this time.”

Due to the abortion bans in her home state, Mylissa was forced to leave the state to receive the care she needed. She was eventually able to seek abortion care in Illinois. Over the course of the 3 days it took Myslissa to find the care she needed, her boyfriend lost his job. He was forced to miss work to help Mylissa travel to and from the hospital in Missouri, the University of Kansas Health System, and the clinic in Illinois. Mylissa's boyfriend was unable to find new, steady employment in Missouri.

Today a Federal investigation determined the two hospitals that denied Mylissa care violated federal law. However, this does not change the immense impact this has had on Mylissa's life. She shared her story publicly because she didn’t want others to go through what she experienced. However, she and her boyfriend felt so ostracized in their community that when she went public with her story they had to move out of Missouri. Mylissa has also had long-term health impacts from the stress caused by these multiple denials of care.

Mylissa's former insurer refused to cover the costs of the abortion that she ultimately received from the clinic in Illinois. Because of their financial struggles and the couple’s feeling that they were being ostracized in their community after the story of Mylissa's pregnancy loss became public, the 2 decided to move in with Mylissa's sister in Oregon. They were able to take with them only their 17 belongings that would fit in a small U-Haul. Neither Mylissa nor her boyfriend has found new full-time employment, and they are doing part-time delivery gigs to make ends meet.

Please donate to support Mylissa and her boyfriend pay their bills, and starting their new life in Oregon. This is a moment where community is vital for Mylissa, let's show up for her the way she showed up for us.

Cover photo credit: Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via AP