Missouri Supreme Court Halts Abortion Access, Defying Will Of The Voters
The Missouri Supreme Court has halted abortion access in the state for now, upending a constitutional amendment that voters put in place last year and delivering a 'devastating' setback for patients in need of immediate abortion care, reproductive rights advocates say.
The state's highest court ruled Tuesday that a district judge must vacate her two recent rulings issuing preliminary injunctions protecting abortion rights, which were reinstated by voters last November following a 2022 ban in the wake of the fall of Roe v. Wade.
'This latest attack by the Missouri Supreme Court is unconstitutional, unconscionable, and downright dirty politics,' Mini Timmaraju, the president of Reproductive Freedom for All, said in reacting to the ruling. 'It is devastating for people across the country to know that even if they organize, vote, and pass measures to protect their reproductive care, extreme GOP actors will still try to take away our constitutional rights.'
The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling hinges on its conclusion that District Judge Jerri Zhang used the wrong standard to make her decisions. When she determined in December that the state's near-total abortion ban was unenforceable, then in February struck down licensing requirements and regulations for abortion clinics, calling them 'unnecessary' and 'discriminatory,' she concluded that abortion rights advocates were likely to prevail in their larger, ongoing battle with the state over abortion access.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week that Zhang should have first considered whether allowing abortions to continue would cause any harms. The decision gives Zhang the chance to revisit the cases and reissue her rulings.
But for now, patients in need of abortions in Missouri will have to leave the state for care.
'This decision puts our state back under a de facto abortion ban and is devastating for Missourians and the providers they trust with their personal health care decisions,' Emily Wales and Margot Riphagen, the presidents of Planned Parenthood's Great Plains and Great Rivers branches, respectively, said in a joint statement.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated the ruling, calling it a 'win for women and children.'
Bailey was able to challenge Zhang's rulings because of the state's newly passed Senate Bill 22, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center noted in a press release last week. The legislation allows the Missouri attorney general to appeal preliminary injunctions that block his office from enforcing an existing law.
Tuesday's ruling is the latest development in Missouri's ongoing legal battle over abortion. In November, it became the first state where voters used a ballot measure to overturn an existing, sweeping abortion ban ― triggering legal challenges from the state's Republican-controlled government.
And earlier this month, state Republicans passed a referendum to put abortion back on the ballot. The proposed amendment will likely appear before voters in November 2026, though it's possible Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe could call for a special election sooner.
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