Missouri Supreme Court Rules to Reinstate State Abortion Laws

The Missouri Supreme Court on May 27 ordered a lower court judge in Jackson County to vacate previous rulings that had blocked the state’s abortion regulations from taking effect.

Missouri’s near-total abortion ban prohibits abortions except in cases of medical emergency. However, Missouri residents voted on Nov. 5, 2024, to repeal the law and allow abortion until fetal viability, generally at about the 24th week of pregnancy.

Shortly after the vote, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban and regulations that restrict abortion access.

In December 2024, Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang ruled that the state’s abortion ban was unenforceable and blocked abortion laws, including one mandating a 72-hour waiting period, but maintained some licensing requirements for health facilities.

The judge then ruled in February that the licensing requirements were discriminatory, enabling abortion services to resume.

The state challenged those rulings, saying they left abortion facilities “functionally unregulated” and women with “no guarantee of health and safety.”

In a two-page ruling on May 27, the state Supreme Court said Zhang had applied the wrong standards when issuing the preliminary injunctions in December and February.

The court ordered Zhang to vacate those injunctions and reevaluate the case using the proper standards—which require the judge to consider whether the plaintiffs would suffer harm in the absence of an injunction, and whether that harm would outweigh any injury caused to other people by blocking the state’s abortion ban.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey welcomed the state Supreme Court’s decision, calling it “a win for common sense, for basic medical safety, and for the sanctity of human life.”

“The law is clear,” Bailey said in a May 27 statement. “The evidence is overwhelming. And Missouri will enforce every word of it.

“Today’s decision from the Missouri Supreme Court is a win for women and children and sends a clear message—abortion providers must comply with state law regarding basic safety and sanitation requirements.”

Planned Parenthood argued that the restrictions were intended to make abortion access difficult.

Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said the organization had contacted patients to cancel abortion appointments at its clinics in Columbia, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri, following the court ruling.

“We have had to call patients in Missouri previously and say, ‘You were scheduled for care, your appointment is now canceled because of political interference, new restrictions, licensure overreach by the state,’” Wales said in a statement to news outlets.

“To be in that position again, after the people of Missouri voted to ensure abortion access, is frustrating.”

On May 14, state lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment for the statewide ballot that would reimpose a ban on abortion, with exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

Kimberly Hayek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.