Missouri high court reinstates pro-life law for now

The state’s supreme court on Tuesday ordered a Kansas City, Mo., judge to vacate two rulings that had allowed abortions to proceed in the state. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang in December and February issued preliminary injunctions against two pro-life laws because she said abortion advocates would eventually prevail in their case against the protections. Her injunctions temporarily removed restrictions on abortionists and women seeking abortions until January 2026 when the case was scheduled to go to trial. Missouri voters in November approved a ballot measure to bar any legislation from regulating or restricting abortion before a baby reaches viability. The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday said Zhang had not met the correct legal standard for issuing her rulings and ordered her to reevaluate her decision. The court said Zhang should have considered if the implementation of the state law would have caused abortion activists irreparable harm, what impact an injunction would have on interested parties, whether or not the party seeking the injunction would be successful, and what impact an injunction would have on the public interest.

What have officials said about the ruling? Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the order a win for women and children. He said the injunctions had prevented the state from protecting women from coerced abortions and allowed abortionists to operate without following safety and sanitation requirements outlined in state law. In a statement cited by The Kansas City Star, the heads of Planned Parenthood’s affiliates in Kansas City and St. Louis said the ruling effectively reinstated an abortion ban.

Dig deeper: Read my report about state lawmakers voting to allow a pro-life constitutional amendment on the ballot next year.