Missouri Supreme Court temporarily reinstates abortion ban
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court has effectively reinstated the state's abortion ban, vacating two lower court rulings that had temporarily restored access to abortion services.
The high court's decision comes just six months after Missouri voters approved Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution.
Jack in the Box closes all locations in the Kansas City area
'It is motivating to know that real people, real lives, real rights are at stake and this is not the time to give up,' said Emily Wales, President and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
Planned Parenthood has already begun canceling upcoming abortion appointments in the state. What happens next remains unclear.
K-9 Lotto dies after medical emergency, Lenexa Police Department says
Missouri voters sent a clear message in November. But despite the amendment's passage, the state quickly filed lawsuits challenging its implementation.
A judge in Jackson County issued two separate preliminary injunctions that allowed abortions to temporarily resume while the case against the amendment worked its way through the courts.
But on Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the judge used the wrong legal test in granting those injunctions, a procedural issue that paused the lower court's decisions.
'The frustration is real because the patients are real and that is something that I think politicians—and to some extent, even courts—can feel separate from,' Wales said.
The ruling from the high court requires any future injunctions to meet a strict four-part legal standard, including a demonstration of irreparable harm and the likelihood of success in court.
For now, abortion is once again banned in Missouri.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated the ruling as a win for 'women's health,' while Planned Parenthood described it as a temporary procedural setback.
This legal battle began just after Amendment 3 passed in November.
Though voters approved constitutional protections for abortion, the state filed legal challenges, arguing the law's implementation should be blocked.
The Jackson County judge who originally ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood must now decide whether to bring both sides back into court or issue a new ruling based on the correct legal standard.
Center School District security guard charged with murder after deadly shooting near Westport
'Now she knows what the Supreme Court expects under this different standard, and she already has the information, all the evidence, all the expert testimony,' said Wales.
What happens next—and how soon—remains uncertain.
But one thing is clear: the legal battle over abortion rights in Missouri is far from over.
FOX4 will continue to follow developments closely.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Pembrokeshire drug dealer who stashed 12 grams of heroin inside him
THIS is the face of a 'drug mule' who has been jailed after being caught with more than 12 grams of heroin stashed up his bum. Mark Briskham, 52, of Wavell Crescent in Pembroke Dock, was jailed for 16 months after admitting possession with intent to supply heroin and heroin possession. Sentencing him, Judge Geraint Walters said: 'Amongst all Class A drugs, this is the most harmful of them all. 'Engaging in the activity of supplying it has to be treated as a serious matter.' Swansea Crown Court heard that Briskham and another man drove to the Swansea area to pick up a quantity of diamorphine – heroin – at around 9.30am on June 8 last year. However, Briskham was stopped by police in Llanteg on his way back home that afternoon. No drugs were found in the car or on either of the men, prosecutor Caitlin Brazel said, so they were both taken to Withybush Hospital for a scan. The passenger's scan was negative, but Briskham then refused to be examined. He was taken to the police station and kept under supervision, until he asked to go to the toilet and expelled a package containing 12.7 grams of diamorphine from his rectum. A drug expert valued the heroin at £1,590 if sold in street deals. Briskham initially denied a charge of possession with intent to supply heroin, but admitted a charge of possession. However, he pleaded guilty on the morning of trial on a basis which was accepted by the prosecution. The defendant said he only wanted to buy seven grams of heroin for his own personal use. He had agreed to drive to pick the drugs up and bring them back, and would be supplied with seven grams out of the total haul when this was done. 'He's being used as a mule,' Judge Walters summarised. Mark Briskham was stopped by police whilst he had 12 grams of heroin stashed up his bum. (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) 'There has been a significant gap in his offending,' said Jon Tarrant, in mitigation. 'In the last 17 years or so there has been very little which the defendant has troubled the court.' Mr Tarrant said Briskham contacted the health board about his addiction issues following his arrest, and was now drug-free. He said the defendant 'welcomed' his period in custody after pleading guilty, adding that it had been 'a bit of a wake-up call' for him. As he jailed Briskham, Judge Walters accused him of having 'played cat and mouse' with the police after initially refusing to be examined in hospital and then not pleading guilty to possession with intent until the morning of trial.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have their very own 'Mary Poppins-like' figure - and it's their grandma Carole
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. There are plenty of parents out there who have no doubt wished for a Mary Poppins of their own to come and get the house in order when things feel overwhelming - and for the Princess of Wales, she had this in the form of her own mother. A royal source has claimed that Carole Middleton became something of a 'real Mary Poppins-like figure' to her three eldest grandchildren, stepping up and becoming a vital helper to Prince William and Kate Middleton as Kate faced her cancer treatment in 2024. The source close to the Wales' spoke to The Independent in the United Kingdom about the irreplaceable role Kate's mom played in her grandchildren's lives, claiming "Carole has been the driving force keeping the family together with minimum fuss and maximum modesty". They explained that Carole, who has always been thought of as Kate's rock and who has helped the Prince and Princess of Wales have an ordinary life, supported her grandchildren and was always on hand to keep their schedules as normal as possible, always on hand to ferry them around their various extracurricular activities. "She's ferried and fetched George, Louis and Charlotte, taken them to school sports matches and given them endless support. She's been a real Mary Poppins-like figure," the source continued. It's also been claimed that the Princess of Wales's mother embodied the 'three R's' when it comes to her family. "She's come to the rescue, provided reassurance, and has been a rock to Catherine and William as they come to terms with the news," the source said. Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen by Robert Jobson, $12.06 (was $29.95) from Amazon Through the author's extensive connections within the royal household, this dynamic biography tells the full story of how Catherine, the Princess of Wales, became the woman she is Deal Carole went into "Mary Poppins" mode for the family after the Princess of Wales confirmed she was undergoing cancer treatment following her abdominal surgery at the start of 2024. In a poignant video released on social media at the time, Catherine revealed, "In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present." She added in the video, "My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment." Carole going above and beyond for her family is nothing new. Royal Journalist, Katie Nicholl, has previously claimed on the True Royalty documentary Kate Middleton: Heir We Go Again, "One of the things that allows William and Kate to be so ordinary is the presence of the Middletons in their lives." "Carole is a regular through those golden gates at Kensington Palace. She whizzes through in her Land Rover. There is no security because everybody knows her. She turns up to help with bedtime and bath time," said the royal expert. "She is absolutely indispensable." Of course, the family have been living at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor since 2022, which means that the young royal family are closer than ever to their grandmother who is located in the same county and just a 45-minute drive from her grandchildren.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Photographer turns lens on unheralded parts of Wales
David Hurn is routinely described as Wales' most important living photographer - but he's not a fan of overstatement. "I'm a photographer, it's like being a plumber - it's no better than, it's less useful than," he says from his cottage in Tintern, Monmouthshire. Over the past seven decades the 90-year-old has documented everything from the Aberfan disaster to The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. For his latest project David, who made his name photographing people, has turned to something different - the Welsh landscape. Anyone expecting quintessential images of Wales' rugged mountains and dramatic coastlines would be mistaken. Instead his book takes in some of the country's lesser-celebrated sites, including graveyards, council estates and even a public toilet. "I wasn't the least bit interested in romantic sort of postcards, people do that for a living and they do it incredibly well so don't compete with someone who does something better than you do," said David. Instead he set about allowing various experts to suggest what he should photograph when it came to exploring the human effect on the landscape. The result - Wales As Is - is an unflinchingly unsentimental portrayal of Wales. Author Richard King, who David invited to write an essay to accompany his photographs, said he found the images refreshing. He said searching for Welsh identity in the landscape seemed to be "a national hobby and a national obsession". "The thing that really struck me is how much we want to impose a narrative on these places," he said. David said he wanted his photographs to explore what people in Wales meant when they said "this is my culture". "Because whenever I asked them what they meant by the word they got all defensive which means they don't know what they're talking about," he laughed. "I wish that people who wanted to talk about culture were cultured, it's not asking a lot." Richard and David first met when Richard interviewed David about his experience of photographing the Aberfan disaster for one of his books. On 21 October 1966, David was one of the first photographers on the scene when a colliery spoil tip collapsed onto a school killing 116 children and 28 adults. It is an experience that has remained with him all his life. "It was undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever had to do and that is because you can't think of anything more obscene than children being suffocated with slurry off a tip," he said. It was made all the harder because he understood that the parents and miners desperately digging children out of the slurry did not want to be photographed - but it was also imperative he did so. "That's very difficult to deal with, very difficult and in this case we're talking children which makes it even more difficult," said David. "It was obvious they saw you as voyeurs but you as a photographer, as a journalist, realised you had to be there because this was an important thing that needed to be documented and you didn't want it to be pushed under the carpet. One of the ways to stop things being pushed under the carpet is to document them and publish them." Alongside his documentary photography, David made a name for himself photographing stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Sophia Loren and The Beatles. He also shot five covers for fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. Photographer's images expose mum's dementia agony Dreamlike Wales inspires Egyptian photographer The photos capturing life on margins of society "Of course all these things pay a lot of money. It's the trivial that pays a lot of money and what you try to do seriously pays the least," he said. "To go to the Canary Islands with 11 models in the '60s was nothing but fun, I enjoyed doing it but I wasn't the least bit interested in the end result, it's as simple as that." Many people of his age and with a long career behind them may be thinking of slowing down, but not David. In fact he says work on his next five books is already underway. "It's difficult because my legs don't want to work and to shoot pictures you have to walk places and that's difficult now I'm at an age where I struggle," he said. "But I want to do it."
