Ruling That Blocked Enforcement Of Missouri’s Strict Abortion Clinic Laws Overturned By Federal Appeals Court
The Missouri laws require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, which can be difficult to obtain, and for abortion clinics to have costly hospital-grade facilities to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. The court wrote that it did not have enough information to decide whether the rules constituted an undue burden on the clinics.
The Hill:
Federal Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Missouri Abortion Restrictions
A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the state of Missouri could enforce laws that abortion rights groups argue will curb access to the procedure. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of the laws, which require doctors who perform abortions to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. (Hellmann, 9/10)
Reuters:
U.S. Appeals Court Says Missouri Can Enforce Abortion Laws
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of those laws and opened the door for more abortion providers to operate in the state, which at the time had only one. Monday's decision comes in a 2016 lawsuit filed by affiliates of the women's health organization Planned Parenthood in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that year that struck down similar abortion restrictions in Texas. (Raymond, 9/10)
Kansas City Star:
Federal Court Strikes Down Missouri Abortion Injunction
Planned Parenthood’s affiliates in Missouri said the decision “could impact services within weeks” by forcing the groups to suspend abortion services in Columbia, delaying plans to expand into Joplin and Springfield and jeopardizing the Kansas City clinic’s efforts to regain its license, which expired last month after its doctor left in March. “These requirements do nothing to help Missouri women, and in fact actually hurt them,” said Brandon Hill, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which serves the Kansas City area. “If these laws are allowed to take effect, women will now have to travel farther, wait longer, and use more of their own resources to access the health care they need most, if they can get care at all.” (Marso and Rizzo, 9/10)
