A St. Louis judge is weighing whether to grant an order allowing Missouri’s only abortion clinic to remain open, a day after abortion-rights protesters were arrested at a state office building.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri judge issued an order Friday ensuring the state’s only abortion clinic can continue providing the service, acting just hours before the St. Louis Planned Parenthood facility’s license was set to expire.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services had not renewed the clinic’s license, citing concerns with “failed abortions,” compromised patient safety and legal violations at the clinic. Agency officials also insisted upon interviewing additional physicians at the clinic as part of an investigation.
Planned Parenthood pre-emptively sued this week to prevent a potential gap in abortion coverage. St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer heard arguments Thursday. His ruling prevents Missouri from become the first state without an abortion clinic since the U. S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.
