Judge Issues Preliminary Injunctions Again Blocking Missouriās Abortion Bans, Some Restrictions
Kansas City, Mo. ā A Jackson County circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of Missouriās abortion bans and several targeted regulations of abortion providers. The new preliminary injunction clears the way for Missouriās Planned Parenthood members to again provide procedural abortion care.
In May, the Missouri Supreme Court clarified the stateās legal standard for issuing a preliminary injunction, forcing the circuit court to temporarily vacate its original orders, and effectively implement a de facto abortion ban.
āWhile the clarification on the standard is welcome, its immediate consequence temporarily pulled back implementation of Missouriansā constitutional right to access abortion care and providersā right to offer that care,ā said Gillian Wilcox, Director of Litigation at the Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ of Missouri. āThis critical win begins to restore abortion access in our state, but Missourians must be vigilant and defeat the attacks on the constitutional rights that we secured at the ballot box last November.ā
āAbortion is legal again in Missouri because voters demanded it and we fought for it,ā said Emily Wales, president and CEO, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. āCare starts again on Monday in Kansas City. Weāre not stopping until every Missourian can get the care they need, close to home.ā
āWe are grateful that procedural abortion can resume in the state of Missouri, just as voters demanded last November. However, the whiplash has created immense confusion for patients in Missouri,ā said Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. āThis decision is a step forward toward fully realizing Missourians' right to reproductive freedom, and the staff at our Central West End health center in St. Louis will work as quickly as possible to resume scheduling abortion appointments."
The order did not address the pending request to enjoin other targeted restrictions that are preventing medication abortion access from being restored in Missouri. Previously, both Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri submitted complication plans to satisfy the existing requirements to allow them to offer medication abortions. The Department of Health and Senior Services failed to respond to either affiliatesā submissions or follow-up inquiries for several weeks. Instead, the department manufactured an āemergency ruleā that resembled many of the court-blocked regulations and cited it as the reason for refusing the submitted plans.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri, who are represented by attorneys from the Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ of Missouri, the Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ, Crowell & Moring, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The full case is currently slated for trial in January 2026.
Court Case: Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains & Planned Parenthood Great Rivers v. Missouri
Affiliate: Missouri