Missouri Abortion Ban Struck Down By Judge…Again

A circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, lifting the Missouri abortion ban as well as several other abortion restrictions in the state.

According to CBS News, Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang found Missouri’s abortion ban likely violates the state’s Constitution. In May, Missouri’s Supreme Court threw out Zhang’s initial preliminary injunction, ruling that Zhang used the wrong criteria. Missouri’s abortion ban went back into effect as a result. Zhang’s new ruling not only lifts Missouri’s abortion ban but also blocks several restrictions on the procedure. This includes the 72-hour waiting period for abortions and a mandate that physicians performing abortions have admission access to specific hospitals within 30 miles of where the procedure occurs. 

“Abortion is legal again in Missouri because voters demanded it and we fought for it,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “Care starts again on Monday in Kansas City.” 

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he “will expeditiously appeal this ruling.” 

“Missouri will not stand idly by while the abortion industry seeks to strip away basic medical safeguards,” Bailey’s office said in a statement. “We will continue to uphold the State’s compelling interest in protecting women’s health, safety, and informed consent.”

Considering that infant mortality rates have gone up in states with abortion bans, and Black women in Missouri are three times more likely to die from complications related to pregnancy, it’s a stretch to say the state is interested in protecting women’s health. 

It’s been an up-and-down saga for Missouri’s abortion ban. The Supreme Court’s overturning Roe v. Wade initially triggered Missouri’s abortion ban in 2022. A signature campaign by abortion rights activists placed a measure enshrining the right to abortion in Missouri’s state constitution on the ballot last Fall. The measure narrowly passed, making Missouri the only state where voters have repealed an abortion ban. Of course, that hasn’t stopped state Republicans from doing their damndest to fight against the will of the people. 

While abortion is technically legal in Missouri, state Republicans have continued implementing as much legal red tape as possible. The use of abortion pills in particular has been a point of contention, with efforts being made to classify them as a controlled substance. 

The Republican-led state legislature put forth a resolution that would once again put abortion on the ballot in 2026. The measure reinstates Missouri’s abortion ban, but with carve outs for pregnancies occurring as a result of rape or incest (which, again, it’s ABSOLUTELY INSANE THAT WASN’T THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE).

With all the data that’s come out in recent years revealing how Missouri’s abortion ban has actually led to worse health outcomes for women and children, there’s really no pro-life argument that can be made for why it should still be banned. More people died as a result of Missouri’s abortion ban. If they were really “pro-life,” the Missouri Republicans would be working to improve access to abortion in the state, not drowning it in lawsuits and red tape. 

SEE ALSO:

Missouri Supreme Court Reinstates Voter-Repealed Abortion Ban

Louisiana Lawmakers Vote Against Adding Rape Exception To Abortion Ban

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