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Federal Judge Moves to Block Missouri Abortion Rules

A Cole Co. judge declared lawmakers' inability to pass tax credit legislation in the fall rendered a Missouri science investment bill unconstitutional.
David Shane
/
Flickr
A Cole Co. judge declared lawmakers' inability to pass tax credit legislation in the fall rendered a Missouri science investment bill unconstitutional.

A federal judge says he will issue a preliminary injunction to block Missouri's rules that he says restrict abortion rights. 

In a memo issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs said his ruling will invalidate Missouri's requirement that doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, and that clinics meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery.

The injunction was sought by Planned Parenthood, which sued to block the restrictions in November. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down similar rules in Texas earlier last year.

Sachs says he's giving the state time to craft a plan for patients to avoid unintended "collateral damage" from the injunction.

Messages left Wednesday with Missouri's attorney general weren't immediately returned.