Planned Parenthood files federal lawsuit challenging Missouri's abortion restrictions

ST. LOUIS • Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday morning challenging state laws that require abortion clinics to meet standards for surgical centers and for their doctors to have hospital privileges.

The move comes after similar restrictions in Texas were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in July, a landmark decision that determined the laws were medically unnecessary and unconstitutional.

The ruling didn’t invalidate similar restrictions elsewhere, however, leaving states such as Missouri to pursue their own fights in court. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Alaska and North Carolina filed similar challenges Wednesday.

Missouri was the first state in the nation to adopt both laws, which abortion rights advocates have long argued do little to protect women’s health. Instead, they say, the laws block women’s rights to have abortions by making requirements so stringent that few providers can meet them.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/planned-parenthood-files-federal-lawsuit-challenging-missouri-s-abortion-restrictions/article_bcdca5e3-dfe2-5f63-8c51-39aa481478b6.html