Missouri court ruling paves the way for abortion access return

[In It to Win It]

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Women in Missouri are expected to again have access to abortion services within days, after a circuit court judge ruled business licenses imposed by the state on Planned Parenthood clinics were too onerous.

"The Court finds the facility licensing requirement is facially discriminatory because it does not treat services provided in abortion facilities the same as other types of similarly situated health care, including miscarriage care," Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang wrote in her three-page ruling.

Zhang found the business licenses imposed on clinics to freely operate violated parts of Missouri's state constitution and did not treat the facilities in the same manner as other medical institutions.

This past November, people in Missouri voted to amend the state constitution and protect abortion rights. Amendment 3 overturned a ban on ending a pregnancy that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in 2022.

https://www.upi.com/amp/Top_News/US/2025/02/15/missouri-court-ruling-abortion-access-restored/6681739638786/