As Missourians waited Thursday for news of whether a Jackson County judge would rule on the legality of abortion restrictions, some did so in the bitter cold outside Columbia's Planned Parenthood clinic.
Late Thursday, Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang was still weighing the injunction that could strike down these laws, and if granted, would restore abortion services throughout the state. She did give defendants more time to respond to a motion which would apply her decision to all prosecutors in the state.
Amendment 3, which constitutionally protects a pregnant person’s access to abortion, went into effect at the end of the day on Dec. 5. However, there are several other laws known as “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” or TRAP laws, that block enforcement of the amendment - Planned Parenthood Great Plains, along with other organizations, filed a lawsuit the day after the amendment passed seeking an injunction.
Out in the cold
In below-freezing conditions, about a dozen members of anti-abortion group Columbia 40 Days for Life gathered outside the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic Thursday morning to pray and express their opposition to current efforts to enforce Amendment 3 and restore abortion services in Missouri.
Group members said they were there to oppose what they see as “unsafe and unsanitary conditions” at the Columbia clinic. Bonnie Lee is a retired nurse and has been volunteering with the group since 2010.
“We want to save lives," Lee said. "[I’ve] been doing this for several years, and that's our goal, is to be here to offer the women the help that they can receive - that they have a true choice, that they're making informed decisions,” Lee said.
Lee delivered a sermon that included scripture, prayers for an end to abortion, and words of hope and encouragement for group members to continue their efforts – no matter what happens in the coming months. Along the sidewalk, protestors stood with signs showing photos of ambulances and medical equipment along with QR codes that contained links to various documents.
The documents contained ambulance dispatch records for the St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic, while some photos held by protestors depicted a medical device.
Kathy Forck is the campaign leader for the group. She says unsafe conditions were reported at the Columbia clinic during a 2018 inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and claims the medical device photos originated from the inspection.
The inspection report described a suction machine containing a “black substance”, and stated that an employee at the clinic identified mold on a portion of the machine and said it had been used on a patient several days prior. Forck claims the photos displayed by protestors depict the same machine - and said she believes it’s proof that Planned Parenthood operations are unsafe.
“There's nothing we can do to make it safer. All we can do is warn people. It's just like if you saw somebody and you knew the bridge was out… you're going to stop them and say, hey, the bridge is out. Well, we want to stop women and say - hey, this isn't safe,” Forck said.
A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Great Plains did not respond to requests for comments this week.
What procedures are already legal
Amendment 3 leaves possible post-viability abortions that are medically necessary “to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
Viability is generally used to describe the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical intervention or when a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally, but it is not a well-defined legal term.
It also has no clinical definition when used in medical settings, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The group opposes the term’s use in legislation.
Amendment 3 allows lawmakers to regulate abortion and reproductive health care as long as the regulations improve the pregnant person’s health, are in line with clinically accepted health care practices and do not infringe on a person’s right to choose.
The state can still enforce abortion laws under certain circumstances, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a Nov. 22 letter to Governor-elect Mike Kehoe. The state will continue enforcing laws requiring minors to get parental consent when seeking an abortion, Bailey said. Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit does not challenge parental rights laws.
CORRECTION: An earlier photo caption identified Bonnie Lee as a member of the wrong group. She is with the group Columbia 40 Days for Life.
