Planned Parenthood Sues to Remove Abortion Ban in Missouri

A Planned Parenthood facility in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 10, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit against Missouri, seeking to repeal abortion laws in the state after a ballot measure on the issue got voter backing.

The lawsuit stems from the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which returned the power to legislate abortion to the states. As a result, Missouri’s near-total abortion ban came into effect.

But on Nov. 5, Amendment 3, seeking to revoke the state’s law banning abortion, passed with 52 percent of the vote. The government cannot “deny or infringe” on citizens’ reproductive decisions like contraception and abortion, the amendment says.

On Nov. 6, Planned Parenthood said it filed a lawsuit at the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, to repeal the state’s abortion regulations. The amendment takes effect on Dec. 5, after which the government cannot intervene except under very narrow circumstances, the lawsuit noted.

“Plaintiffs seek a declaration that Missouri’s laws and regulations banning and restricting abortion, as set forth herein, are unconstitutional,” it said.

“Plaintiffs also seek preliminary and permanent injunctive relief preventing Defendants from enforcing these laws and regulations so that they may once more provide abortion in the state.”

The requirements being challenged in the case include:

• that facilities other than hospitals that perform abortions be licensed as a type of ambulatory surgical center;
• that physicians providing abortions have “clinical privileges at a hospital which offers obstetrical or gynecological care located within thirty miles of the location at which the abortion is performed”;
• that tissue removed at the time of abortion be submitted within five days to an expert for examination;
• that physicians conducting abortions complete an abortion report for every such case that they handle;
• that patients seeking an abortion receive state-mandated information before the procedure, which can include the probable anatomical characteristics of the unborn child and an ultrasound of the fetus;
• that women seeking an abortion make a medical trip to a health center at least 72 hours before the procedure; and
• that abortion medication be administered “in the same room and in the physical presence of the physician” who recommended it, which the plaintiffs claim is effectively a telemedicine ban.

The lawsuit was filed by the Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri.

The case was filed against the state of Missouri and multiple officials, including the governor, the state attorney general, and the director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Abortion in the US

After the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation in June 2022 that activated the state’s Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act. The act was included in HB 126, signed in 2019, and was contingent upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling Roe v. Wade.

The measure prohibited doctors from conducting abortions unless there was a medical emergency and created a criminal liability for anyone performing illegal abortions.

“Nothing in the text, history, or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion,” the governor said at the time. “We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions.”

“With Roe v. Wade overturned and statutory triggers provided in HB 126, we are issuing this proclamation to restore our state authority to regulate abortion and protect life,” he said.

Abortion was a ballot issue in several other states on Nov. 5. In Arizona, a measure enshrining abortion as a constitutional right passed with 62 percent of the vote. At present, abortion is legal in the state only through the 15th week of pregnancy.

A similar proposal was put up in Florida that sought to make abortion a constitutional right. It received the backing of 57 percent of voters, short of the 60 percent necessary to pass.

Multiple states have taken action to implement stringent abortion measures in the past year. In May, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill designating abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. The designation means the drugs can be obtained only with a prescription.

In July, a new law came into effect in Iowa that bans abortion after cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, which typically happens around the sixth week of pregnancy. Previously, abortion was legal in the state up to 20 weeks of gestation.