Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MO-REVrevisor.mo.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

188.015. Definitions. — As used in this chapter, the following terms mean:

(1) "Abortion":

(a) The act of using or prescribing any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or any other means or substance with the intent to destroy the life of an embryo or fetus in his or her mother's womb; or

(b) The intentional termination of the pregnancy of a mother by using or prescribing any instrument, device, medicine, drug, or other means or substance with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth or to remove a dead unborn child;

(2) "Abortion facility", a clinic, physician's office, or any other place or facility in which abortions are performed or induced other than a hospital;

(3) "Affiliate", a person who or entity that enters into, with an abortion facility, a legal relationship created or governed by at least one written instrument, including a certificate of formation, a franchise agreement, standards of affiliation, bylaws, or a license, that demonstrates:

(a) Common ownership, management, or control between the parties to the relationship;

(b) A franchise granted by the person or entity to the affiliate; or

(c) The granting or extension of a license or other agreement authorizing the affiliate to use the other person's or entity's brand name, trademark, service mark, or other registered identification mark;

(4) "Conception", the fertilization of the ovum of a female by a sperm of a male;

(5) "Department", the department of health and senior services;

(6) "Down Syndrome", the same meaning as defined in section 191.923;

(7) "Gestational age", length of pregnancy as measured from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period;

(8) "Medical emergency", a condition which, based on reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert the death of the pregnant woman or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman;

(9) "Physician", any person licensed to practice medicine in this state by the state board of registration for the healing arts;

(10) "Reasonable medical judgment", a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved;

(11) "Unborn child", the offspring of human beings from the moment of conception until birth and at every stage of its biological development, including the human conceptus, zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus;

(12) "Viability" or "viable", that stage of fetal development when the life of the unborn child may be continued indefinitely outside the womb by natural or artificial life-supportive systems;

(13) "Viable pregnancy" or "viable intrauterine pregnancy", in the first trimester of pregnancy, an intrauterine pregnancy that can potentially result in a liveborn baby.

--------

(L. 1974 H.B. 1211 § 2, A.L. 1979 H.B. 523, et al., A.L. 1986 H.B. 1596, A.L. 2007 H.B. 1055, A.L. 2011 H.B. 213 merged with S.B. 65, A.L. 2019 H.B. 126, A.L. 2024 H.B. 2634)

CROSS REFERENCE:

Life begins at conception, 1.205

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 18 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1980–2024 · leading case: Jalesia McQueen, Appellant. v. Justin Gadberry, 507 S.W.3d 127 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Jalesia McQueen, Appellant. v. Justin Gadberry, 507 S.W.3d 127 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 36× “The general assembly of this state finds that: (1) The life of each human being begins at conception; (2) Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being; (3) The natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and…”

Webster v. Reproductive Health Servs., 492 U.S. 490 (1989). · cites it 6× “The Missouri Act defines "conception" as "the fertilization of the ovum of a female by a sperm of a male," Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 (3) (1986), and invests "unborn children" with "protectable interests in life, health, and well-being," § 1.”

Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968 (1997). · cites it 2× “1973)); Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 188.015 (5), 188.020 (1996); id.”

Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc. v. Ashcroft, 483 F. Supp. 679 (W.D. Mo. 1980). · cites it 8× “APPENDIX AN ACT to repeal sections 188.015, 188.-020, 188.025, 188.”

Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Harmon, 760 S.W.2d 408 (Mo. 1988). · cites it 6× “" Section 188.015(7), RSMo 1986, determines that a fetus is viable "when the life of the unborn child may be continued indefinitely outside the womb by natural or artificial lifesupport systems " (emphasis added).”

Planned Parenthood Assn. of Kansas City, Mo., Inc. v. Ashcroft, 462 U.S. 476 (1983). · cites it 2× “Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 (2) (Supp. 1982) (defining "abortion facility" as "a clinic, physician's office, or any other place or facility in which abortions are performed other than a hospital").”

State v. O'BRIEN, 784 S.W.2d 187 (Mo. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 4× “" "Unborn child" is defined as a human being "from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.”

Arkansas Women's Political Caucus v. Riviere, 677 S.W.2d 846 (Ark. 1984). “Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 ; Okla. Stat. 6351-730.”

Reproductive Health Servs. v. Webster, 662 F. Supp. 407 (W.D. Mo. 1987). · cites it 2× “Accord Mo.Rev. Stat. § 188.015(7) (Supp.1986). 15 .”

State v. Knapp, 843 S.W.2d 345 (Mo. 1992). “080, RSMo 1978, and sections 188.015, 188.025, 188.028, 188.039, 188.”

Women's Health Ctr. of West Cnty. v. Webster, 681 F. Supp. 1385 (E.D. Mo. 1988). · cites it 4× “It provides: Notwithstanding any other penalty provision in this chapter, any person who is not a licensed physician as defined in section 188.015 who performs or attempts to perform an abortion on another as defined in subdivision (1) of section 188.”

Reproductive Health Servs. v. Webster, 655 F. Supp. 1300 (W.D. Mo. 1987). · cites it 2× “Accord Mo.Rev. Stat. § 188.015(7) (Supp.1986). 15 .”

Show all 18 citing cases →

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(12) — 1 case

Mary Elizabeth Anne Coleman, Kathleen Anne Forck, Hannah Sue Kelly, & Marguerite Ann \Peggy\" Forrest v. John R. Ashcroft (2024).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(2) — 3 cases

Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc. v. Ashcroft, 483 F. Supp. 679 (W.D. Mo. 1980). “APPENDIX AN ACT to repeal sections 188.015, 188.-020, 188.025, 188.”

Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., Div. of Med. Servs. (Mo. 2020).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(3) — 2 cases

Jalesia McQueen, Appellant. v. Justin Gadberry, 507 S.W.3d 127 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). “The general assembly of this state finds that: (1) The life of each human being begins at conception; (2) Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being; (3) The natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and…”

State v. O'BRIEN, 784 S.W.2d 187 (Mo. Ct. App. 1989). “" "Unborn child" is defined as a human being "from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.”

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(6) — 1 case

Rambo v. Lawson, 799 S.W.2d 62 (Mo. 1990).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(7) — 4 cases

Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Harmon, 760 S.W.2d 408 (Mo. 1988). “" Section 188.015(7), RSMo 1986, determines that a fetus is viable "when the life of the unborn child may be continued indefinitely outside the womb by natural or artificial lifesupport systems " (emphasis added).”

Reproductive Health Servs. v. Webster, 662 F. Supp. 407 (W.D. Mo. 1987). “Accord Mo.Rev. Stat. § 188.015(7) (Supp.1986). 15 .”

Reproductive Health Servs. v. Webster, 655 F. Supp. 1300 (W.D. Mo. 1987). “Accord Mo.Rev. Stat. § 188.015(7) (Supp.1986). 15 .”

Dr. Anna Fitz-James v. John R. Ashcroft, Missouri Sec'y of State (Mo. Ct. App. 2023).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015(9) — 1 case

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.