Judge considers first lawsuit to overturn Missouri's near-total abortion ban

Source: AP

Updated 7:44 PM EST, December 4, 2024


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Abortion-rights advocates on Wednesday asked a judge to overturn Missouri’s near-total ban on the procedure, less than a month after voters backed an abortion-rights constitutional amendment. Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang did not immediately rule after the hearing. Planned Parenthood and other plaintiffs had asked her to issue a temporary order blocking enforcement of Missouri’s numerous abortion laws.

Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said abortions could begin Friday in clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis if the judge issues the order. “Every single day that they cannot access abortion rights they are being denied critical care,” Wales said of Missouri residents.

Several anti-abortion protesters knelt on the ground as they prayed outside the courthouse during the hearing. They covered their mouths with a red piece of tape that read “life.”

Missouri is one of five states where voters approved ballot measures this year to add the right to an abortion to their state constitutions. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they’ll need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect. Another that bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitution-amendment-11ce2e4d703fbae64163488dd42038d0