Reproductive rights groups celebrated on Friday after a Missouri judge temporarily blocked significant abortion restrictions that were kept in place despite voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to the procedure.
Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Great Plains announced that “abortion care will be restored immediately” following the decision from Judge Jerri Zhang, who sided with Planned Parenthood in blocking licensing rules that advocates said were a major obstacle to abortion access.
As The Associated Press reported, “Planned Parenthood argued that the licensing law required providers to give ‘medically unnecessary and invasive’ pelvic exams to anyone receiving an abortion, including medication abortions.”
“It also included ‘medically irrelevant’ size requirements for hallways, rooms, and doors,” AP added.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement that the Friday ruling “is the direct result of Missouri abortion providers’ tenacity and determination to fight for their patients.”
“As our fight for patients’ access to abortion continues across the country, we will look towards the brave providers and advocates in Missouri, who weathered years of attacks while continuing to serve their communities,” said McGill Johnson. “Not only are they making abortion access a reality in Missouri, but they are showing us the way forward. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is proud to continue this fight alongside Missouri’s advocates and healthcare providers, until every person can exercise their right to reproductive freedom.”
Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, applauded the ruling as “a decisive win for the people, for reproductive freedom, and for direct democracy.”
BREAKING: Barely a year after launching the campaign to end Missouri’s abortion ban, the court upheld the will of the people.#AbortionAction #AbortionIsHealthcare pic.twitter.com/BHF5NFkQoa
— Abortion Action Missouri (@AbortionAction) February 15, 2025
The judge’s decision came as Missouri Republicans continued working to reverse the abortion rights amendment approved by state voters in November.
The Missouri Independent reported last month that “Republican lawmakers have already filed dozens of bills aimed at weakening or overturning Amendment 3,” proposals that include “returning to voters to ask to re-impose Missouri’s abortion ban, as well as smaller measures attempting to set parameters around” the amendment.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said Friday that “today’s decision is a triumph for all Missourians: for the voters who demanded their rights, for the medical providers we trust to provide care, and most importantly, for patients who will now be able to receive high-quality care without fear.”
“The people voted, the court responded, and we will do our part: serving Missourians in their home state,” Wales added.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.