Amendment 3, which will allow abortions in the state, went into effect on December 5. Planned Parenthood clinics have not resumed abortions, however, as they wait for a ruling on challenges to Missouri’s abortion regulations.
Less than 24 hours after voters approved Amendment 3, supporters filed a lawsuit seeking to roll back Missouri’s safety standards on abortion. In the first of what will likely be many lawsuits, Planned Parenthood challenged a number of state laws, including the state’s current abortion ban that only allows abortion exceptions in cases of medical emergencies, the requirement that only physicians perform abortions, the requirement that abortion clinics be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers, and safety regulations on medication abortions.
The lawsuit also seeks to remove Missouri’s ban on abortions conducted because of the race, sex, or Down syndrome diagnosis of the fetus, stating these requirements “always infringe on autonomous decision-making by removing a patient’s ability to decide what care is best for them”. (emphasis in original)
Planned Parenthood intends to immediately begin walk-in medication abortion appointments in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia if they receive a favorable ruling with surgical abortions to follow.