# Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015: 188.015 Definitions > Missouri · Statutes · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.015 ## Section - **Citation:** Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 - **Heading:** 188.015 Definitions - **Jurisdiction:** Missouri - **Kind:** Statutes - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** MO Code / Chapter 188 / Section 188.015 ## Text 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 ## Nearby sections - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.010 188.010 Intent of general assembly.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.010.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.015 188.015 Definitions.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.015.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.017 188.017 Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act — limitation on abortions, when — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.017.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.018 188.018 Severability clause.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.018.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.020 188.020 Physician, required to perform.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.020.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.021 188.021 RU-486, administration of, requirements — limitation on prescribing certain ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.021.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.023 188.023 Reports of rape or under age eighteen sexual abuse, required to report, how.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.023.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.025 188.025 Hospital required, when.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.025.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.026 188.026 Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act — findings of general assembly — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.026.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.027 188.027 Consent, voluntary and informed, required — procedure, contents — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.027.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.028 188.028 Minors, abortion requirements and procedure.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.028.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.030 188.030 Abortion of viable unborn child prohibited, exceptions — physician duties — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.030.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.031 188.031 Next friend defined for purposes of the procedure for a minor to obtain an ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.031.md) - [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.033 188.033 Out-of-state abortion facilities, in-state facilities giving information ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.033.md) --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C188_S188.015. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.