A Missouri Supreme Court ruling has stopped abortion access in Kansas City and across the state, at least temporarily. That set off a scramble for patients with abortions scheduled and for lawyers trying to protect a right now enshrined in the state constitution.
Last year, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment that legalized abortion. But anti-abortion laws on the books effectively blocked that new right, prompting a lawsuit.
In February, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang put the old laws on hold as the lawsuit progressed, since they interfered with the new constitutional right. That allowed clinics in Missouri, including two in greater Kansas City, to start performing abortions.
But the Missouri Supreme Court disagreed with Zhang’s legal reasoning and ordered her to lift her injunctions against the laws.
Emily Wales, the president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said Tuesday’s ruling triggered a flurry of activity.
“We have been canceling appointments, letting folks know when they call that they can't access care in Missouri, and doing everything we can to explain that abortion care remains accessible in Kansas and Illinois,” Wales said.
In Kansas, where abortion remains legal up to 22 weeks, Planned Parenthood Great Plains operates clinics in Overland Park, Kansas City, Wichita and Pittsburg. Patients can call 1-800-230-PLAN or search abortionfinder.org to find the nearest abortion care provider.
The Supreme Court decision also set off a legal push to reinstate abortion protections.
“The decision that came out of the Supreme Court functionally said that the judge needs to use a different standard,” Wales said. “So, we will go back. We will ask the court to issue new injunctions.”
The lawsuit trying to nullify old abortion restrictions based on the new constitutional amendment is set to go to trial early next year, with an appeal to the state Supreme Court coming thereafter.
Wales expects laws currently blocking abortion access in Missouri to be suspended again.
“I anticipate she (Zhang) will try to take this up quickly and ensure that we can restore care that's constitutionally protected,” Wales said.
That protection may not last. This month, Republican lawmakers in Jefferson City placed an amendment on the ballot for next year that would reverse last year’s vote protecting abortion.
