51黑料

KANSAS CITY 鈥� Abortion services are poised to resume across Missouri after a Jackson County judge on Thursday blocked a series of restrictions that temporarily banned access.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang, in an order issued late Thursday afternoon, halted requirements that abortion providers must obtain state licenses, among other restrictions. The licenses included rules that providers called unethical, including mandatory pelvic exams for women.

The order marks a key moment for abortion rights supporters, effectively restoring access after a procedural ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court temporarily banned the procedure in late May.

Planned Parenthood鈥檚 clinic in Kansas City immediately planned to restore access on Monday, the organization said.

Planned Parenthood officials said the organization doesn鈥檛 know exactly when its 51黑料 clinic will restart the procedure but that it will work as quickly as possible to resume scheduling abortion appointments.

鈥淭he decision is a step forward toward fully realizing Missourians鈥� right to reproductive freedom鈥� following voter approval last year of a measure putting abortion rights in the state constitution, said Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers in 51黑料.

Attorney General Andrew Bailey, meanwhile, said Thursday night he will 鈥渆xpeditiously鈥� appeal the ruling.

鈥淲e respectfully but firmly disagree with the Court鈥檚 decision to once again block the enforcement of Missouri鈥檚 duly enacted health and safety regulations,鈥� said a statement issued by Bailey鈥檚 office.

鈥淢issouri will not stand idly by while the abortion industry seeks to strip away basic medical safeguards.鈥�

Thursday鈥檚 ruling came roughly a month after the state Supreme Court ordered Zhang to vacate two preliminary injunctions that had allowed abortions to resume in the state. The Supreme Court order temporarily halted all abortions in what providers called a 鈥渄e facto ban.鈥�

The court had ordered Zhang to reevaluate her rulings based on a different legal standard. After a series of legal fights between abortion providers and attorneys for the state of Missouri, Zhang鈥檚 order on Thursday blocked the same restrictions and effectively restored access.

Zhang鈥檚 order on Thursday was mixed and did not block all the restrictions in state law. It did not, for example, address medication abortions, which remain on hold.

But the ruling halted enough of the regulations for Planned Parenthood to begin offering procedural abortions again.

The order states the regulations should be blocked after voters in November approved the abortion rights amendment, called Amendment 3, that enshrined reproductive rights in the state constitution.

The restrictions, often called TRAP laws or Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers, included a 72-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion and clinic licensing rules.

The regulations effectively caused the number of abortions in Missouri to drop from 6,163 in 2010 to 150 in 2021 before the state鈥檚 former ban was enacted in 2022.

Abortion rights supporters quickly celebrated the ruling as a victory in the fight for restored access.

鈥淢issourians voted to end the abortion ban and establish the right to reproductive freedom in the constitution, and today, a Missouri court once again ruled to uphold the will of the people,鈥� said Mallory Schwarz, the executive director of Abortion Action Missouri.

But while Thursday鈥檚 ruling marked a win for abortion rights supporters, it also comes as a new fight at the ballot box looms.

Republican lawmakers in May voted to put a new abortion ban on the 2026 statewide ballot. If approved by voters, the proposed constitutional amendment, which will also be called Amendment 3, would strike down the November vote that legalized access and ban nearly all abortions in the state.

Schwarz nodded at the upcoming ballot fight in a statement on Thursday, saying, 鈥渁ttacking Missourians鈥� freedom will always be a losing strategy.鈥�

鈥淲e will defeat abortion bans as many times as we have to, and we know that the majority of Missourians are with us,鈥� Schwarz said.

Austin Huguelet and Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.