Well I’ve got some great news for those who live in the state of Missouri. Legal abortion in the state is about to end this week, according to CBS News:
Last remaining abortion clinic in Missouri says it expects to be shut down this week, effectively ending legal abortion in the state; Planned Parenthood says Missouri’s health department is “refusing to renew” its annual license https://t.co/VPOz7xmjDD pic.twitter.com/uX9NBxh6AF
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 28, 2019
Here’s more from CBS News:
The last remaining abortion clinic in Missouri says it expects to be shut down this week, effectively ending legal abortion in the state.
In a statement Tuesday, Planned Parenthood said Missouri’s health department is “refusing to renew” its annual license to provide abortion in the state. If the license is not renewed by May 31, Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided.
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit requesting a restraining order against the state, hoping to restore the license and avoid service disruption. A circuit court judge will hear arguments on Wednesday.
Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, told CBS News on Tuesday morning via email that Planned Parenthood’s license was “under review,” and did not respond to additional questions.
The crux of the issue appears to be a quasi unwillingness of Planned Parenthood and their doctors to aid in an investigation of “deficient practices” within their clinic:
On May 20, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services notified Planned Parenthood of three issues that could impact license renewal, according to documents reviewed by CBS News and provided by Planned Parenthood.
On May 22, Planned Parenthood said it would address two of them: adjusting who at the clinic provided the state-mandated counseling and adding an additional pelvic exam for abortion patients.
But it said a third request was out of its control. According to Planned Parenthood, the health department said it was investigating “deficient practices,” and needed to interview seven physicians who provide care at the clinic. Planned Parenthood said it could offer interviews only with two who are its employees. The other five physicians working at the facility are residents in training and not employed by Planned Parenthood, a spokesperson for the clinic said via email on Tuesday. The state has indicated that the result of those interviews could be “board review” in addition to “criminal proceedings,” the spokesperson said. The medical residents declined to be interviewed for the state’s investigation.
In its letter, the Department of Health wrote that it could not “complete our investigation until it interviews the physicians involved in the care provided in the potential deficient practices,” and that “the investigation needs to be completed and any deficiencies resolved before the expiration of [the clinic’s] license on May 31, 2019.”
The “deficient practices” sound serious if they could end up with criminal proceedings.
If the state can prove these “deficient practices” are serious and worthy of investigation, I don’t see how the court is going to be able to issue a restraining order against the state. However I’m sure Planned Parenthood will do everything they can to get a judge to rule on their behalf.
Barring court intervention, it does sound like the last remaining abortion clinic will close this week which would be great news for the pro-life cause.