Abortions to resume in Missouri after a judge temporarily blocks restrictions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Abortions are set to resume in Missouri after a judge temporarily blocked regulations on Friday that providers said had kept them from offering the procedure.

The ruling came after a Kansas City judge ruled last year that abortions were now legal in the state but kept certain regulations on the books while a lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates played out.

One regulation required abortion facilities to be licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Planned Parenthood said most of its facilities could not comply with some of the licensing rules, including “medically irrelevant” size requirements for hallways, rooms and doors.

Voters approved a measure adding abortion rights to the constitution in November. That amendment did not legalize abortion in the state outright but instead required judges to reconsider laws that had almost completely banned the procedure.

Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said the group is working quickly to start providing the procedure again in the coming days.

“Today’s decision affirms what we’ve already long known — the state’s abortion facility licensing requirements were not about patient safety, but rather another politically motivated barrier to prevent patients seeking abortion from getting the care they need,” she said in a statement.

There was no immediate response to a voice message seeking comment from a spokesperson for Missouri’s attorney general, who is defending the state’s abortion restrictions in court.

Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, said clinic partners are ready to start providing abortions as soon as next week.

“With this change the landscape for Missourians and the entire Midwest region will be transformed, as patients will have greater access to abortion care than they have had in years,” she said in a statement.

Missouri is one of five states where voters approved ballot measures in 2024 to enshrining abortion rights in their constitutions. Nevada voters also approved an amendment but will need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect.

Another measure banning discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.