Planned Parenthood has resumed appointments for medication abortions following a judge’s decision on June 18 that overturned nearly every abortion regulation in Missouri.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang issued the permanent ruling following a trial in Jackson County that challenged the constitutionality of the abortion laws. Missouri’s Planned Parenthood affiliates and the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit seeking to repeal regulations they said violate a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2024.
Among the laws that Zhang struck down are informed consent requirements, licensing requirements for abortion facilities, and a rule that providers submit complication plans to the state. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she plans to appeal the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court.
“This radical decision gives abortion providers a free pass to police themselves,” Hanaway said in a June 18 statement. “Women are no longer entitled to the same level of care in an abortion clinic that they would receive in other healthcare settings: providers are no longer required to maintain complication plans or insurance, and the state cannot even conduct basic health and safety inspections to ensure patient safety.”
Missouri’s bishops are calling on the faithful to pray, fast, and vote in support of Amendment 3 this November, saying the measure offers an opportunity to reinstate protections for unborn children and safeguards for women’s health.
Further details can be found here at the St. Louis Review website and here at the Catholic Missourian website.