The Missouri Supreme Court has reinstated several requirements designed to ensure safety for women who undergo abortions as the state gears up for another referendum on abortion, leading some providers to halt abortions for the time being.
In a decision published Tuesday, the state's high court vacated two lower court rulings siding with Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri in their request for preliminary injunctive relief against several state statutes related to abortion.
The brief ruling did not explicitly identify the statutes at issue but stated that the lower court failed to abide by the proper standard for granting preliminary injunctive relief, which requires “a threshold finding that a party is likely to prevail on the merits.”
“This Court hereby holds the correct standard is: (1) the threat of irreparable harm to the moving party; (2) balancing this harm with any injury an injunction would inflict on other interested parties; (3) the moving party is likely to prevail on the merits; and (4) the effect on the public interest,” the decision stated. “This Court hereby orders Respondent to vacate her orders granting preliminary injunctive relief with respect to state standards and regulations identified therein.”
The Missouri Supreme Court also ordered Judge Jerri Zhang to re-evaluate the Planned Parenthood affiliates’ request for a preliminary injunction in light of the standard.
Missouri Right to Life listed statutes impacted by Zhang’s decision. They include a rule that only doctors perform abortions, sterilization requirements for surgery instruments and equipment, the determination of an unborn child’s gestational age as well as preexisting medical or other complications in addition to the presence of equipment to treat medical emergencies at abortion clinics.
Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the court’s decision “a win for women and children” that “sends a clear message – abortion providers must comply with state law regarding basic safety and sanitation requirements.”
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, told the media that her organization's centers began canceling appointments after Tuesday's ruling was issued.
“It’s shocking,” Wales told The Washington Post. “For the court to vacate those injunctions in a technical way is alarming. It does mean that Missourians have a right to an abortion in theory only until we can get another injunction in place.”
Missouri voters narrowly passed Amendment 3 last year, which established a right to abortion in the state constitution.
Following the passage of Amendment 3, Article I, Section 36 of the Missouri Constitution was amended to declare that “The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters related to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”
Both chambers of the Republican-controlled Missouri legislature have voted in favor of House Joint Resolution No. 73, which will place a proposed constitutional amendment before voters at the time of the next statewide general election, slated for Nov. 3, 2026. The Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives voted to place the amendment on the ballot in a 103-51 vote last month, while the Republican-controlled Missouri Senate voted 21-11 to take the same course of action earlier this month.
In addition to repealing Article I, Section 36, the proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to clarify that “No abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency, rape, or incest.” The proposed constitutional amendment would limit abortions to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in cases of medical emergency, rape or incest. Additional provisions would ban taxpayer funding of abortion and prohibit the performance of gender transition procedures on trans-identified youth.
If voters approve the proposed constitutional amendment, Missouri would become the first state to repeal a constitutional provision establishing a right to abortion after previously approving one. Missouri is one of several states that have enshrined a right to abortion in the state constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court determined in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizationdecision that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion.
California, Michigan and Vermont voted in favor of such constitutional amendments in 2022 while Ohio followed suit in 2023. Missouri joined Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada and New York in voting in favor of pro-abortion ballot measures last year, while Nebraska, Florida and South Dakota became the first three states to reject them.
