Voices for Choice working with Right By You to provide free emergency contraception in Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Voices for Choice is working with Right By You to bring free emergency contraception to the Hannibal area.

Right By You, based in Missouri, helps people understand their pregnancy options.

The organization focuses on providing information on accessing abortion care, pregnancy and birth care, and parenting support resources. Right By You recently made headlines for its work offering free emergency contraception — also known as the morning-after pill — to Missourians. It is now collaborating with Voices for Choice to make free emergency contraception available.

The Right By You program, through Voices for Choice, works with Hannibal businesses that keep free emergency contraception onsite to provide it to anyone on a walk-in basis with no questions asked. Voices for Choice is talking with businesses in Palmyra and Canton to broaden the program and access.

“With the current abortion ban in Missouri, it is important people have access to contraception,” Carrie Bross, a member of Voices for Choice, said in a press release. “We do not want to take our attention away from the Missouri lawmakers removing Missourians’ choices over their own body and health care, but we do want to bring a focus on pregnancy prevention to our area. If we can support our local community by providing free contraception, then that could be one less person looking for and going through with an unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortions are a leading preventable cause of maternal death.”

For help finding abortion care or a Hannibal business for free emergency contraception, text the Right By You textline at 1-855-458-0886 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For further information about this program, visit RightByYou.org.

Voices for Choice works to maintain, protect and ensure human rights to control our own bodies and healthcare choices. It is primarily focused on the northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois areas.