KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Abortion rights in Missouri are still unclear as a legal battle in Jackson County is ongoing. With Amendment 3 taking effect at midnight on Dec. 5, there's no clear guidance from the courts.
After a longer-than-expected day in court on Wednesday, Planned Parenthood was confident things would move quickly enough to start up operations on Friday.
But we're now seeing how the state is reacting. They haven't submitted their response filings, so the judge hasn't made any decision.
That means the status of abortions is at a standstill until a Jackson County judge rules on Planned Parenthood's preliminary injunction. It could take a day, a week, or even months.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains' president and CEO hoped it would have been decided by Dec. 6.
"We anticipate as early as possible, including this Friday if we're able to do so, we will have abortion access in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis," Emily Wales said.
The preliminary injunction is to knock down statutes known as 'Trap Laws.' These are Missouri laws that have been in place for years, like requiring clinics to have additional licensing, 24/7 emergency care, and a mandatory 72-hour wait reflection period for patients.
Planned Parenthood says these laws essentially block abortion operations and therefore what voters passed in November.
"[Trap laws] don't make Missourians healthier or safer," Wales said.
Planned Parenthood's interim president and CEO for Great Rivers explained a judge's guidance is needed on the laws before any abortions can happen in the state.
"The state does intend to continue to enforce all of the abortion restrictions that are on the books," Richard Munez said. "We do need the court to act before we can actually provide abortions again."
The Solicitor General of Missouri explained in court the state wants to protect those statutes by opposing Planned Parenthood's preliminary injunction and go straight to trial.
"These laws are justified, these laws are necessary," Josh Divine said. "We're going to look at everything we can. Obviously, we hope to prevail at trial. We're going to take everything through appeals and fight this all the way."
Court proceedings are rarely wrapped up in a day because both parties have the chance to respond to each other's filings. The most recent court document shows the Missouri state defendants have until Dec. 14, 2024, to respond to Planned Parenthood's motion to certify all 114 prosecutors in Missouri listed as defendants, among the other agencies listed.
The judge has to allow for all responses before making a final decision.
"Under that amendment passed in November, there is an affirmative right to childbirth and Planned Parenthood is affirmatively ignoring half of the amendment," Divine said.
More in-depth coverage of the court case can be found here.
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