The trial to determine the fate of Missouri’s abortion regulations began this week in Kansas City. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Missouri are asking the court to strike down the state’s abortion regulations as unconstitutional under the abortion-rights amendment passed last November.
Among the regulations being challenged is Missouri’s requirement that only physicians perform abortions. Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, testified that lifting the physician-only requirement would double the number of abortion providers in the state and allow for the expansion of Planned Parenthood clinics.
Attorneys for the state argue that abortion providers were seeking to remove regulations out of financial motivations. “Abortion is a business,” Deputy Solicitor General Peter Donohue said on Monday. “Your Honor, the plaintiffs are asking to deregulate their profession in order to make more money.”
The trial is expected to last ten days.