Missouri’s Last Remaining Abortion Clinic Expected To Be Closed By End Of Week Due To Stand-Off With State Officials
Planned Parenthood said Missouri's health department is "refusing to renew" its annual license to provide abortions amid an ongoing audit. If the license is not renewed, Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since the Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.
The New York Times:
Missouri’s Last Abortion Clinic Could Stop Providing The Procedure This Week
Missouri’s last abortion clinic might have to stop providing the procedure by the end of the week because of a standoff with state officials over an audit, according to Planned Parenthood, which operates the clinic. Lawyers for the clinic say that the audit, which began this spring, has become wide-ranging and includes demands they consider to be unreasonable. They say the clinic’s license is due to expire at midnight on June 1, and if the disagreement over the audit is not sorted out by then, the clinic will be forced to stop providing abortions. (Tavernise, 5/28)
Reuters:
Missouri May Become Only U.S. State With No Legal Abortion Provider
The license for Reproductive Health Services to provide abortions expires on Friday, after which it may no longer offer abortions. It would continue providing other healthcare services, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said. "This is a real public health crisis," said Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which runs the clinic. "More than a million women of reproductive age in Missouri will no longer have access to a health center in the state they live in that provides abortion care." (Borter, 5/28)
The Washington Post:
Missouri Could Become The First State Without An Abortion Clinic
The St. Louis clinic plans to file a lawsuit in state court Tuesday seeking permission to keep providing abortions if its license expires, Planned Parenthood said in a statement. The nonprofit said the clinic “has maintained 100 percent compliance” with the law. “What is happening in Missouri shows that politicians don’t have to outlaw abortion to push it out of reach entirely,” Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. (Iati, 5/28)
The Hill:
Missouri's Only Abortion Clinic Expects To Be Shut Down This Week
Planned Parenthood made two of its doctors available for interviews, but the other five are not considered employees of the organization and have not consented to interviews. The state hasn't given specifics about the investigation's focus but told Planned Parenthood officials that it's "not off the table" for it to result in criminal referrals. (Hellmann and Rodrigo, 5/28)
Los Angeles Times:
With Missouri’s Last Abortion Clinic Targeted, Illinois Braces For Influx Of Patients
Faced with that prospect, abortion providers in neighboring Illinois were bracing for an influx of patients. “If Missouri blocks the last remaining abortion provider … in the state, it’s going to leave more than 1.1 million women of reproductive age to face a world where they’re blocked from accessing abortion services,” said Alison Dreith, the deputy director of the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Ill., 10 miles from downtown St. Louis. (Jarvie, 5/28)
CQ:
Missouri's Sole Abortion Provider May Close Friday
In 2018, Missouri had two abortion providers, but the Columbia Planned Parenthood was forced to close in October over hospital admitting privilege requirements for abortion providers.The American Civil Liberties Union separately said it also supports challenging these requirements. (Raman, 5/28)
KCUR:
Missouri Could Soon Become First State Without A Clinic That Performs Abortions
Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, director of State Media Campaigns for Planned Parenthood, said the situation in Missouri has been unfolding for years and is the result of what she describes as a "weaponized inspections process." "This didn't happen overnight. It's been a slow drip of restriction after restriction, and we've been warning for some time that abortion access is on the line," Lee-Gilmore said. (McCammon and Gringlas, 5/28)
Kaiser Health News:
What Closing Missouri’s Last Abortion Clinic Will Mean For Neighboring States
As the last abortion clinic in Missouri warned that it will have to stop providing the procedure as soon as Friday, abortion providers in surrounding states said they are anticipating an uptick of even more Missouri patients. At Hope Clinic in Granite City, Ill., just 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis, Deputy Director Alison Dreith said Tuesday her clinic was preparing for more patients as news about Missouri spread. “We’re really scrambling today about the need for increased staff and how fast can we hire and train,” Dreith said. (Weber, 5/28)
The Washington Post:
Illinois House Passes Reproductive Health Act, Affirming Abortion Rights Amid Attack On Roe V. Wade
Alabama. Ohio. Kentucky. Mississippi. Georgia. Utah. Arkansas. Missouri. These are the states on the front lines of the cultural battle intensifying over abortion. Next up: Illinois? The “Land of Lincoln” is the latest place to advance legislation addressing access to the medical procedure. But the aim in Springfield, Ill., is vastly different. (Stanley-Becker, 5/29)
The Associated Press:
Illinois May Expand Abortion Rights As Other States Restrict
The Illinois House voted to bolster the right to abortion on Tuesday as Democratic-led states respond to restrictions placed by some Republican-led states that conservatives hope will lead the U.S. Supreme Court to review the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed the right to abortion. The Illinois House voted 64-50 on Rep. Kelly Cassidy's Reproductive Health Act , which would rescind prohibitions on some late-term abortions and 45-year-old restraints such as criminal penalties for doctors performing abortions, all measures whose enforcement has been prohibited by court orders. (O'Connor, 5/28)
