A Missouri Circuit Court judge moved to temporarily block the state’s “discriminatory” abortion restriction, striking down a licensing requirement for clinics providing the procedure.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang blocked the licensing requirement Friday evening, which abortion advocates and providers argued was a crucial step in permitting procedures in the state.
Zhang, in a three-page ruling, wrote that the “facility licensing requirement is facially discriminatory because it does not treat services provided in abortion facilities the same as other types of similarly situated health care, including miscarriage care.”
Last year’s ruling temporarily lifted the state’s abortion ban, but some restrictions were kept, including having abortion facilities license with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Planned Parenthood and others argued that this requirement made physicians perform “medically unnecessary” exams to those seeking an abortion, a step Zhang also deemed “unnecessary.”
“The regulations mandate physicians to perform certain exams and testing that are unnecessary when the physicians themselves are authorized and enabled to make the determination on what is and is not necessary for their individual patients,” Zhang wrote in the ruling.
Following Friday’s ruling, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains CEO Emily Wales said that abortion care will be restored “immediately” and said the judge’s decision is a victory “for all Missourians: for the voters who demanded their rights, for the medical providers we trust to provide care, and most importantly, for patients who will now be able to receive high-quality care without fear.”
After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Missouri was the first state to implement a near-total abortion ban. The state’s voters approved a measure in November last year that did not repeal the current ban, but amended the state constitution. It allowed abortion advocates to file lawsuits and argue the current laws do not align with the new amendment.
Those in support of the state’s abortion ban said the fight is still ongoing.
“We will not stop fighting to protect both women and unborn children from reckless, profit-driven practices,” Missouri Stands with Women spokesperson Stephanie Bell said in a Friday statement. “No woman should suffer, and no innocent life should be taken, in the name of an industry that refuses to be held accountable.”
The judge’s Friday ruling is a temporary order pending the outcome of the lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates, who sued to overturn the ban shortly after the November amendment passed.
The Hill has reached out to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office for comment.
