Earlier this week we told you about a Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri that was on the verge of closing because the state wasn’t renewing their license. Well a judge has stepped in and is currently siding with Planned Parenthood to keep the abortion clinic open:
ABC NEWS – A circuit court judge ruled Friday that Missouri’s only remaining abortion clinic can continue performing the procedure.
If St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer had not approved Planned Parenthood’s request for a temporary restraining order, the clinic’s license would have lapsed and it would have been forced to close Friday night at midnight, making Missouri the first state in the nation without an abortion provider.
With the temporary restraining order granted to allow the clinic to stay open, there will be another hearing on June 4, Stelzer said in his ruling. Stelzer also clarified in his ruling that it was only on the question of a restraining order, not on any other part of the issue at hand.
The state had said that Planned Parenthood wasn’t complying with their investigation into potentially wrongdoing at the clinic and therefore couldn’t renew their license:
State health officials had refused to renew the St. Louis clinic’s license until doctors agree to interviews about what Gov. Mike Parson is calling “a series of deficiencies.”
The state had asked to interview all seven of the clinic’s physicians, Planned Parenthood said Tuesday, but the state would not provide any guidance on what the doctors would be asked during the interviews. Those interviews could lead to the doctors losing their medical licenses or possible criminal prosecution, Planned Parenthood said.
So we don’t know what these ‘deficiencies’ are, but it was serious enough that the state had said their investigation could lead to criminal charges. They have another hearing next Tuesday so we’ll see what happens.
And if you’re wondering, this judge was appointed by Democratic Governor Jay Nixon back in 2012.