Missouri health care providers can now resume offering abortion care after a Jackson County circuit court judge temporarily blocked a restrictive anti-abortion law.
“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,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “Abortion care will be restored immediately. The people voted, the court responded, and we will do our part: serving Missourians in their home state.”
Last November, Missouri was one of seven states to enshrine abortion rights in its state constitution. Amendment 3 established and protected the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” covering decisions about all aspects of reproductive health care — including “prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”
Before this, Missouri had a total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the pregnant person. However, because the amendment did not explicitly overturn the state’s existing ban, providers sued almost immediately after voters approved the constitutional change to enforce it.
In late December, a state circuit court ruled that Missouri’s trigger ban and other abortion restrictions were unconstitutional and blocked those laws. However, some regulations remained in place while a lawsuit by abortion rights advocates continued. One such restriction was Missouri’s abortion facility licensure requirement, which had been upheld in a previous ruling. This rule prevented providers, including Planned Parenthood, from resuming care despite the ban being struck down.
The law required abortion facilities to be approved by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and forced providers to conduct “medically unnecessary and invasive” pelvic exams for all abortions, including medication abortions. It also imposed “medically irrelevant” requirements for hallways, rooms and doors, making compliance nearly impossible. The plaintiffs contended that the regulations were so strict that “most health centers or doctors’ office[s] simply do not meet” the requirements.
On February 14, Judge Jerri Zhang temporarily blocked these requirements, ruling that the licensing rule was “facially discriminatory because it does not treat services provided in abortion facilities the same as other types of similarly situated health care, including miscarriage care.” The case is set to go to trial in 2026.
“The decision to block Missouri’s abortion provider licensure requirements which made full access to care unattainable in the state is a huge step to realizing the promise of Missourians’ new constitutional right to reproductive freedom,”said Gillian Wilcox, director of litigation at the ACLU of Missouri and co-counsel for the lawsuit. “We must remain vigilant and be ready to hold politicians accountable to the will of the people, not the other way around.”
On Saturday, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City provided the first elective abortion since Missouri voters repealed the state’s abortion ban by passing Amendment 3 in November. Other providers are also planning to resume care.
“Today’s ruling is the direct result of Missouri abortion providers’ tenacity and determination to fight for their patients,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. “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. Not only are they making abortion access a reality in Missouri, but they are showing us the way forward.”
However, Missouri Republicans have vowed to challenge the decision. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) stated that Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) is likely to appeal Judge Zhang’s ruling. Meanwhile, Republicans have introduced nearly three dozen bills aiming to repeal or restrict Amendment 3 and the Missouri House has prioritized a proposed constitutional amendment that would reinstate the state’s abortion ban. Senate Democrats, however, have pledged to filibuster any attempt to overturn the voter-approved measure that enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution.
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