A Missouri judge ruled Thursday that the state cannot enforce several laws regarding abortion — including a law restricting most abortions, a 72-hour waiting period, and a law requiring abortion facilities to meet special licensing requirements. With the ruling, abortions — which had largely been paused — are set to resume in the state.
The state Supreme Court had lifted the judge’s previous injunction.
Key Takeaways:
- Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang’s ruling blocked state enforcement of a waiting period law and laws meant to ensure that abortion facilities meet specific licensing requirements.
- Her ruling re-imposes a preliminary injunction on the laws after the state Supreme Court lifted her previous injunction last month.
- Zhang’s ruling is the third time she has ruled that the state must forego its abortion restrictions due to the passage of Amendment 3, which made abortion a constitutional ‘right’ in the state.
- Some of the state’s abortion facilities have announced they will resume committing abortions on Monday.
The Details:
Zhang ruled Thursday that the voter-approved constitutional amendment declaring abortion as a constitutional “right” trumps any laws meant to regulate abortion in the state, including a 72-hour waiting period law, laws requiring abortion facilities to meet safety standards, and requirements that abortionists must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
With the rules no longer enforced, abortionists in the state are set to resume business.
“Abortion is legal again in Missouri because voters demanded it and we fought for it,” Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in response to Zhang’s ruling. “Care starts again on Monday in Kansas City. We’re not stopping until every Missourian can get the care they need, close to home.”
The Backstory:
Since Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 in November 2024, the state has been involved in a number of back-and-forth legal skirmishes with the abortion industry. The state has hoped to retain some semblance of protections for preborn children and women, as abortion advocates are for abortion with no strings attached.
The ruling marks the third time Zhang has used the amendment to overturn preborn protections, previously blocking the laws in December 2024 and February 2025.
In May, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Zhang had used the wrong standard in her rulings to overturn the state’s abortion restrictions. The court ordered Zhang to vacate her rulings, which put the abortion restrictions back in effect and caused state abortion facilities to halt operations.
According to CBS News, Zhang’s “reconsidered” her rulings per the court’s directive and then reissued the preliminary injunctions again, citing the passage of Amendment 3 in her reasoning.
While she overturned most abortion restrictions, she did keep in place a law outlawing distribution of the abortion pill in the state.
The Bottom Line:
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said his office “will expeditiously appeal this ruling.”
“We respectfully but firmly disagree with the Court’s decision to once again block the enforcement of Missouri’s duly enacted health and safety regulations,” the statement read. “These requirements were designed to ensure that women receive care in sanitary conditions from qualified professionals, with emergency safeguards in place.”
“Missouri will not stand idly by while the abortion industry seeks to strip away basic medical safeguards,” Bailey’s office added. “We will continue to uphold the State’s compelling interest in protecting women’s health, safety, and informed consent.”
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