Appeals court upholds block on safety standards for Missouri abortion businesses

A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling that state laws regarding abortion facility licensing requirements are unconstitutional. With the ruling, the state's abortion businesses have vowed to stay open.

Key Takeaways:

• The Western District Court of Appeals refused to overturn an injunction on Missouri laws requiring abortion businesses to maintain safety standards.

• The court took up the case after the Missouri Supreme Court refused to consider it in August.

The Details:

On October 14, the Western District Court of Appeals rejected a request from former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to enforce state laws requiring that abortion facilities meet several safety regulations and licensing requirements.

Often known as “TRAP” laws (targeted regulation of abortion providers), the safety regulations include a 72-hour waiting period between meeting the abortionist and undergoing the abortion, a requirement that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital, an informed consent requirement including a sonogram, and a requirement that abortion businesses be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.

In its unanimous ruling, the court called Bailey's request "disingenuous."

“The irreparable harm flowing from a denial of abortion care within the confines of the Missouri (reproductive rights amendment) are unique because an abortion decision by an expectant mother ‘simply cannot be postponed, or it will be made by default with far-reaching consequences,’” wrote Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer.

The court also cited the state's passage of Amendment 3, which enshrined abortion as a constitutional 'right.'

"Missouri voters approved Section 36 of the Missouri Constitution through the democratic process, demonstrating a clear intent to establish 'a fundamental right to reproductive freedom' that 'shall not [be] den[ied] or infringe[d]' by the Government," the judges wrote. "It is in the public interest to prevent violation of those constitutional rights."

The injunction against the laws remains at the preliminary level; according to The Missouri Independent, a bench trial to hear the lawsuit is slated in January.

The Backstory:

Following Amendment 3's passage in November 2024, abortion activists in the state got busy filing lawsuits to overturn any and all abortion restrictions. The state's TRAP laws were among the most pressing, as abortions (which were prohibited except for certain circumstances prior to the amendment's passage), could not resume with the safety restrictions in place because many abortion businesses were not equipped to meet the required guidelines.

Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang blocked some of those restrictions in December 2024, and the remaining laws in another ruling in February 2025. On July 3, she again blocked the laws as her initial injunction was set to expire. Bailey then appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, arguing that the Jackson County Circuit Court abused its discretion in granting the injunction. In August, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case, and instead sent the case to the Western District Court, which made its ruling this week.

Why it Matters:

The state's abortion businesses had threatened to close their doors if the TRAP regulations were reinstated, indicating that the facilities currently do not have these safety measures in place, and that women in the state are therefore at risk.

Though abortion injuries remain largely out of the mainstream media, Live Action News routinely reports on instances where ambulances are summoned to abortion businesses for injuries. Without standard regulations in place, like elevators and hallways that can fit gurneys, and admitting privileges at local hospitals, women are placed at increased risk.

The Bottom Line:

Bailey's successor, Catherine Hanaway, appears supportive of the continued fight for the state's laws protecting preborn children and their mothers.

“By blocking even the most basic health and safety standards, like licensing and clean medical equipment, we believe this ruling puts women in danger and undermines Missouri’s ability to protect patients,” she said in a statement.