In Missouri, a court decision means lower health standards for abortion clinics

Jefferson City, Mo., Apr 21, 2017 / 07:04 am

Stronger medical standards for abortion clinics were thrown out in Missouri by a federal judge who cited a Supreme Court decision on a similar law in Texas.

The Missouri law required abortion clinics to have the same standards as similar outpatient surgical centers. The clinics' doctors were also required to have hospital privileges.

U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs of the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City said April 19 that "relief should be prompt, given the needs of women seeking abortions and the need for available clinics to serve their needs." He cited the 5-3 ruling of the 2016 Supreme Court decision Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said he would appeal the decision, the St. Louis Dispatch reports.

"Today a federal court struck down large portions of Missouri law that protect the health and safety of women who seek to obtain an abortion," he said. "Missouri has an obligation to do everything possible to ensure the health and safety of women undergoing medical procedures in state-licensed medical facilities."

The surgical center standards, implemented for abortion clinics in 2007, include wide halls and doorways that can accommodate emergency personnel and equipment; separate male and female changing rooms for personnel; and a recovery room with space for at least four beds with sufficient clearance around each bed.

The law was credited for closing some abortion clinics in the state that could not meet the surgical standards.

There had been only one abortion provider in the state before the judge's decision.

Now, Planned Parenthood has said it would start to restore abortion services in Columbia and Kansas City. It plans to begin performing the procedures in Joplin and Springfield.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 ruling said that the Texas law under consideration placed an "undue burden" on a woman's right to an abortion and posed a "substantial obstacle" to that right without showing the benefit of regulation.

At the time of the decision, Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for pro-life communications at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, said the court "rejected a common-sense law protecting women from abortion facilities that put profits above patient safety."