Missouri Supreme Court restores pro-life laws – for now

Missouri’s pro-life laws are back in effect — for now. The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a judge to lift two previous rulings that had paused the laws as a legal case plays out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• In November, Missouri voters narrowly approved Amendment 3, enshrining abortion as a state constitutional right.

• Planned Parenthood filed an immediate lawsuit to have the state’s pro-life laws blocked.

• Months after a judge issued an injunction against the pro-life laws, the Missouri Supreme Court has ordered the pro-life laws to be put back in place.

• Planned Parenthood has stopped committing abortions in Missouri, at least for now.

THE DETAILS:

On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered District Judge Jerri Zhang to vacate her earlier orders from December and February, which had blocked the state’s pro-life laws. The Court said Zhang applied the incorrect standard when issuing those rulings and ordered that abortions be paused for the time being.

“Unqualified medical practitioners, moldy equipment, and a lack of approved complication plans are just some of the many terrible things we predicted would follow in the wake of Amendment 3. Given Planned Parenthood’s sordid history of subverting state law, I will continue to ensure their compliance with basic health and safety requirements. I’m proud of the work our office has done to hold the line, making Missouri the safest state in the nation for women and families,” said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. “Today’s decision from the Missouri Supreme Court is a win for women and children and sends a clear message – abortion providers must comply with state law regarding basic safety and sanitation requirements.”

Sam Lee, director of Campaign Life Missouri, called the decision a win, even if it’s a temporary one. “The laws that have been passed over the decades were not only designed to prevent abortions, but also to protect the health of women who do get abortions,” he said. “So we’re happy that those and other pro-life laws are now back in effect. We’ll just see what happens going down the road. But we expect no abortions in Missouri at least for now.”

Planned Parenthood had to cease committing abortions on Tuesday following the state Supreme Court’s ruling. “This decision puts our state back under a de facto abortion ban and is devastating for Missourians and the providers they trust with their personal health care decisions,” said Planned Parenthood Great Plains President and CEO Emily Wales and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers President and CEO Margot Riphagen. “At Planned Parenthood health centers across Missouri, our patients remain our north star, and we will continue to fight for their freedom to the constitutionally protected health care they voted for.”

THE BACK STORY: 

In November, Missouri voters approved Amendment 3, enshrining abortion as a right in the state constitution. Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state immediately sued to block the state’s pro-life laws based on Amendment 3.

In a December ruling, Zhang blocked several pro-life ‘TRAP’ laws (“targeted regulation of abortion providers”), including a state law requiring a 72-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion, as well as a mandate that abortionists have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. She also blocked an informed consent requirement, a requirement that the abortion pill be consumed in front of the prescribing abortionist, and a law requiring all fetal ’tissue’ removed from the uterus during an abortion be sent to a pathologist.

In February, she ruled that abortion facilities in Missouri do not need to meet certain health and safety licensing standards.

Attorney General Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate the pro-life regulations, arguing that Zhang’s decisions allowed abortion businesses to operate “functionally unregulated,” leaving women with “no guarantee of health and safety.”

Zhang said her decision to allow abortions to resume in the state was based on the belief that abortion proponents were likely to ultimately win the case, and every pro-life law in the state would be permanently blocked. The state Supreme Court, however, said Zhang should consider whether there would be harm caused by allowing abortions to resume. Zhang will be allowed to reissue her rulings under different reasoning.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

With Zhang’s rulings overturned, preborn children are currently protected from abortion in Missouri. However, this could be a temporary win if courts ultimately rule in favor of Planned Parenthood and Amendment 3 proponents. The amendment states that “the right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the government demonstrates that such action is justifiable by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Meanwhile, Missouri lawmakers proposed another ballot measure asking voters to repeal Amendment 3. It could be on the ballot in 2026 or sooner.