A panel of federal appeals judges ruled that Missouri cannot enforce the 2019 state law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy. Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Services of Planned Parenthood for the St. Louis Region, said the decision was a "critical victory for Missourians."

The three judges on St. Louis' 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the lawsuit in September of 2020 before announcing their decision Wednesday. Reproductive Health Services, operator of the St. Louis abortion clinic, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit.

The abortion law, which also would have barred women from seeking abortions after a Down syndrome diagnosis for the fetus, had been blocked by a federal judge while the legal battle was taking place.