KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) 鈥� Abortions are set to resume in Missouri after a judge blocked regulations that had restricted providers even after voters approved enshrining abortion rights into the state鈥檚 constitution.
Friday's ruling came after a Kansas City judge ruled last year that abortions were now legal in the state but kept certain regulations on the books while a lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates played out.
One regulation required abortion facilities to be licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Planned Parenthood said most of its facilities could not comply with some of the licensing rules, including 鈥渕edically irrelevant鈥� size requirements for hallways, rooms and doors.
Planned Parenthood argued that the licensing law required providers to give 鈥渕edically unnecessary and invasive鈥� pelvic exams to anyone receiving an abortion, including medication abortions. The plaintiffs also said some of the regulations on Planned Parenthood centers were so strict, 鈥渕ost health centers or doctors鈥� office simply do not meet鈥� them.
Voters approved the measure adding abortion rights to the constitution in November. That amendment did not legalize abortion in the state outright but instead required judges to reconsider laws that had almost completely banned the procedure.
Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said the group is working quickly to start providing the procedure again in the coming days.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision affirms what we鈥檝e already long known 鈥� the state鈥檚 abortion facility licensing requirements were not about patient safety, but rather another politically motivated barrier to prevent patients seeking abortion from getting the care they need,鈥� she said in a statement.
The ruling is a temporary order pending the outcome of the lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates.
Planned Parenthood and other advocates sued to overturn Missouri鈥檚 near-total abortion ban almost immediately after voters amended the constitution to protect reproductive rights. Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey is fighting the lawsuit.
There was no immediate response to a voice message seeking comment from a spokesperson for the attorney general.
Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, said clinic partners are ready to start providing abortions as soon as next week.
鈥淲ith this change the landscape for Missourians and the entire Midwest region will be transformed, as patients will have greater access to abortion care than they have had in years,鈥� she said in a statement.
Missouri is one of in 2024 to enshrining abortion rights in their constitutions. Nevada voters also approved an amendment but will need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect.
Another measure banning discrimination on the basis of 鈥減regnancy outcomes鈥� prevailed in New York.
Missouri鈥檚 constitutional amendment allows lawmakers to restrict abortion after viability with exceptions to 鈥減rotect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.鈥�
The term 鈥渧iability鈥� is used by health care providers to describe whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally or whether a fetus might survive outside the uterus. While there is no defined time frame, doctors say it is generally sometime after the of pregnancy.
The Associated Press
