abortion rights

For the third time, a Jackson County judge ruled that Missouri's abortion restrictions cannot be enforced under Amendment 3. Planned Parenthood said its Kansas City clinic will resume services on Monday, but Attorney General Andrew Bailey will appeal the ruling.

The Missouri Supreme Court handed down a ruling that struck down injunctions put in place last year by Jackson County judge Jerri Zhang, effectively re-instating the state's near-total abortion ban.

The appeal came right after Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a bill that gives the attorney general the right to appeal temporary pauses against state laws or constitutional provisions.

A bill that would limit abortion access in Missouri was sent to the state Senate on Thursday.

The agency said complication plans failed to meet requirements of an emergency rule that clinics must provide the names of any physicians who prescribe abortion medication.

In Missouri's legislature, dozens of bills aim to overturn or weaken voter-approved initiatives, such as Amendment 3's enshrinement of abortion rights and Proposition A's minimum wage increase and paid sick leave laws.

For the first time in many years, Mid-Missourians will soon be able to access abortion care at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, even though no procedures are scheduled for this week.

Because some licensing restrictions are still on the books, Planned Parenthood providers said they cannot perform abortions even after an order lifted the state's overall abortion ban.

Dr. Betsy Wickstrom, a high-risk OB-GYN in Kansas City, said she still worries abortion access will remain tenuous for the foreseeable future

The lawsuit comes hours after Missouri passed Amendment 3, which legalized abortion up to fetal viability.