Missouri Supreme Court allows abortion ban to continue
May 27 (Reuters) - The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the state's strict abortion ban, once again putting the ban in place at least for now.
The state's high court ordered a circuit court judge to vacate her injunctions against the abortion ban, saying the judge had applied the wrong standards.
The Supreme Court said one of its prior rulings had established "a more rigorous standard" when blocking a state law.
But the Supreme Court also ordered Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang to re-evaluate her rulings "in light of this standard," raising the possibility that Zhang could reissue the injunctions on a different legal basis. The underlying lawsuit challenging the law has yet to go to trial.
For now Missouri's abortion ban, which kicked in when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, will once again take effect.
Missouri voters in November passed a ballot measure to ensure abortion rights by amending the state constitution that guarantees a "right to reproductive freedom" up until fetal viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
That prompted the state's Planned Parenthood organizations to file a lawsuit seeking strike down the state abortion ban, which led to Zhang's rulings.
In December Zhang ruled the abortion ban violated the constitution but left in place some licensing requirements that prevented many abortions from resuming. Then in February she ruled the licensing requirements were discriminatory, enabling Planned Parenthood to resume abortions.
The state attorney general challenged those rulings, leading to Tuesday's Supreme Court decision.
Republican lawmakers have also approved a new ballot measure, either in November 2026 or possibly sooner if a special election is held, that would seek to repeal the amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, which voters approved by 3 percentage points last November.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Southern Baptists vote to seek repeal of ruling that legalized same-sex marriage
Delegates from the Southern Baptist Convention have overwhelmingly backed a resolution opposing same-sex marriage, even urging the reversal of the Supreme Court 's Obergefell v Hodges decision, which legalized it nationwide in 2015. The resolution was passed at the denomination's annual meeting, which hosted more than 10,000 church representatives. While the resolution does not explicitly use the word "ban," it calls for the "overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v Hodges, that defy God's design for marriage and family," and advocates "for laws that affirm marriage between one man and one women." The resolution also implored legislators to restrict sports betting and support policies that encourage childbearing. Even if the 2015 Obergefell decision were reversed, it would not automatically result in a nationwide ban, as 36 states had already legalized same-sex marriage at the time of the ruling, and support for it remains strong in many areas. However, if the convention got its wish, not only would Obergefell be overturned, but so would every law and court ruling that affirmed same-sex marriage. There was no debate on the marriage resolution. Gender identity, fertility and other issues The marriage issue was incorporated into a much larger resolution on marriage and family — one that calls for civil law to be based on what the convention says is the divinely created order as stated in the Bible. The resolution says legislators have a duty to "pass laws that reflect the truth of creation and natural law — about marriage, sex, human life, and family" and to oppose laws contradicting "what God has made plain through nature and Scripture." The same resolution calls for recognizing "the biological reality of male and female" and opposes "any law or policy that compels people to speak falsehoods about sex and gender." It urges Christians to "embrace marriage and childbearing" and to see children "as blessings rather than burdens." But it also frames that issue as one of public policy. It calls "for renewed moral clarity in public discourse regarding the crisis of declining fertility and for policies that support the bearing and raising of children within intact, married families." It laments that modern culture is "pursuing willful childlessness which contributes to a declining fertility rate," echoing a growing subject of discourse on the religious and political right. The pornography resolution, which had no debate, calls such material destructive, addictive and exploitive and says governments have the power to ban it. The sports betting resolution draws on Southern Baptists' historic opposition to gambling. It called sports betting "harmful and predatory." Andrew Walker, chair of the Committee on Resolutions, said at a news conference that the marriage resolution shows that Southern Baptists aren't going along with the widespread social acceptance of same-sex marriage. But Walker, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, acknowledged that a realistic rollback strategy would require incremental steps, such as seeking to overturn Obergefell. "I'm clear-eyed about the difficulties and the headwinds in this resolution," he said. Whistleblower's death casts pall on Dallas meeting The two-day annual meeting began Tuesday morning with praise sessions and optimistic reports about growing numbers of baptisms. But casting a pall over the gathering is the recent death of one of the most high-profile whistleblowers in the Southern Baptists' scandal of sexual abuse. Jennifer Lyell, a onetime denominational publishing executive who went public in 2019 with allegations that she had been sexually abused by a seminary professor while a student, died Saturday at 47. She "suffered catastrophic strokes," a friend and fellow advocate, Rachael Denhollander, posted Sunday on X. Friends reported that the backlash Lyell received after going public with her report took a devastating toll on her. Several abuse survivors and advocates for reform, who previously had a prominent presence in recent SBC meetings, are skipping this year's gathering, citing lack of progress by the convention. Two people sought to fill that void, standing vigil outside of the meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas as attendees walked by. The pair held up signs with photos of Lyell and of Gareld Duane Rollins, who died earlier this spring and who was among those who accused longtime SBC power broker Paul Pressler of sexual abuse. "It's not a healthy thing for them (survivors) to be here," said Johnna Harris, host of a podcast on abuse in evangelical ministries. "I felt like it was important for someone to show up. I want people to know there are people who care." Past attempts at reforms in the SBC The SBC Executive Committee, in a 2022 apology, acknowledged "its failure to adequately listen, protect, and care for Jennifer Lyell when she came forward to share her story." It also acknowledged the denomination's official news agency had not accurately reported the situation as "sexual abuse by a trusted minister in a position of power at a Southern Baptist seminary." SBC officials issued statements this week lamenting Lyell's death, but her fellow advocates have denounced what they say is a failure to implement reforms. The SBC's 2022 meeting voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. That came shortly after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant, which said Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years. But the denomination's Executive Committee president, Jeff Iorg, said earlier this year that creating a database is not a focus and that the committee instead plans to refer churches to existing databases of sex offenders and focus on education about abuse prevention. The committee administers the denomination's day-to-day business. Advocates for reform don't see those approaches as adequate. It is the latest instance of "officials trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of reform," abuse survivor and longtime advocate Christa Brown wrote on Baptist News Global, which is not SBC-affiliated. In a related action, the Executive Committee will also be seeking $3 million in convention funding for ongoing legal expenses related to abuse cases.
Telegraph
30 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Musk: I apologise for some of my Trump posts
Elon Musk has apologised to Donald Trump for posting incendiary comments on social media during their public row. The tech billionaire, who worked with Mr Trump for 130 days as a special government employee, said on X that the US president should be impeached and claimed he was mentioned in the Epstein files. 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.' Mr Musk has said. Mr Trump said that Mr Musk had 'lost his mind' during the meltdown, which started with a disagreement over the government's 'big beautiful' spending bill. Since stepping down as the head of the US Department of Government Efficiency, Mr Musk has criticised Mr Trump's tax and spending bill, describing it as a 'disgusting abomination' that will increase national debt. In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Mr Trump said he had 'no desire' to speak to Mr Musk and accused him of being 'disrespectful to the office of the President'. Asked if his relationship with the tech boss was over, he replied: 'I would assume so.' It came after JD Vance, the US vice president, said Mr Musk had made a 'huge mistake' in picking a fight with Mr Trump. Mr Vance said he hoped Mr Musk would 'come back into the fold', but acknowledged that might be difficult after he went 'nuclear' during the public spat with the president.
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
US condemns UK decision to sanction two Israeli ministers
The United States has condemned the UK's decision to sanction two Israeli ministers over what was described as 'egregious abuses' of human rights in Gaza. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's secretary of state, argued that the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich 'do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire' and called for the measures to be reversed. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday that the ministers had been 'inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months, they have been encouraging egregious abuses of human rights'. The UK is taking the action alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway. Mr Rubio said that the US 'stands shoulder-to-shoulder' with Israel. In a post on X, he said that the 'United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia on two sitting members of the Israeli cabinet. 'These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.' He went on to say that America reminds 'our partners not to forget who the real enemy is'. 'The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.' The sanctions against Israel's security and finance ministers were announced on Tuesday. Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir both belong to right-wing parties which help to prop up Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile coalition government, and both have been criticised for their hardline stance on Gaza. Mr Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. Meanwhile, Mr Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza 's people to be resettled from the territory. In a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the other nations who also imposed sanctions, Mr Lammy said that the two sanctioned ministers had incited 'serious abuses of Palestinian human rights' and described their actions as 'not acceptable'. The statement added: 'We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas, which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.' Downing Street said that the two men had been sanctioned in their 'personal capacities' and not 'their ministries and departments'. 'As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy,' a Number 10 spokesman said. The UK and other allies have upped pressure on Israel in recent weeks, amid aid shortages in Gaza and suggestions that a large-scale offensive could be launched into the territory. It has been reported that only scarce amounts of aid are making it into the hands of people, and the slow flow of food and medicines has prompted warnings of famine and starvation.
