On Friday, Missouri denied a license for the only abortion clinic left in the state, amid a legal dispute with the state’s Planned Parenthood division over what state officials have called “troubling” violations at the clinics.
According to the Kansas City Star, the decision came prior to a court hearing and was announced by a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. The outlet reported that the decision has no immediate impact because of an injunction that keeps the clinic open for now.
Fox News reports that St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer had told the state it can’t let the license lapse but must either renew or deny it and set a Friday deadline.
Missouri’s lawmakers are already making a case for not renewing the clinic’s license including claims that three “failed abortions” required additional surgeries and another led to life-threatening complications for the mother, according to a court filing.
Gov. Mike Parson signed the legislation in May to ban abortions at or beyond eight weeks of pregnancy, with the exceptions of medical emergencies but not for rape or incest. Efforts to put the new law to a public vote are now tied up in the legal system.
If the St. Louis facility is closed, Missouri would be the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since 1974, which is the year after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision which made abortion legalized nationwide.
