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| Missouri’s Last Abortion Clinic Can Keep Providing the Procedure, for Now | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| ST. LOUIS — A judge in Missouri gave the state’s last abortion clinic more time to resolve a dispute with the state health department, defusing a standoff that had threatened to shut down all abortion services in the state at midnight on Friday. | |
| Gov. Mike Parson has said that the clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, needs to clear up what he described as “a number of serious health concerns” as part of a state audit. The audit must be completed, the state has said, before the clinic’s license can be renewed. | |
| Leaders of the clinic say the state is making unreasonable requests and is bent on closing the clinic for political reasons. They filed suit this week arguing that the state was abusing its regulatory authority. | |
| Lawyers for the clinic presented their case before Judge Michael F. Stelzer of Missouri Circuit Court in St. Louis on Thursday, and he granted the clinic a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon, allowing it to keep operating past midnight. | |
| Mr. Parson, a Republican, had said the court should stay out of the dispute. | |
| “It would be reckless for any judge to grant a temporary restraining order ruling before the state has taken action on a license renewal,” the governor said during a news conference on Wednesday. | “It would be reckless for any judge to grant a temporary restraining order ruling before the state has taken action on a license renewal,” the governor said during a news conference on Wednesday. |
| The clinic’s license had been set to expire at midnight on Friday, and without the judge’s intervention, it would have been forced to stop providing abortions, its leaders have said. | |
| That would have made Missouri the first state in the United States without access to abortion services since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court extended federal protections for the procedure in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision. | |
| The disagreement comes toward the end of a busy legislative season, in which states across the country, including Missouri, have passed some of the strictest abortion laws the country has ever seen. Earlier this month, Alabama passed a law that would ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. On Wednesday, Louisiana lawmakers voted to ban abortion as early as six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, and Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, signed it into law on Thursday. | |
| The strict new laws are expected to be tied up in court. Even so, their passage is having an effect. On Wednesday, Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger, said it would be “very difficult” for the company to continue filming in Georgia if that state’s new, restrictive abortion law is implemented. Other media companies — including WarnerMedia and Netflix — have said they would also reconsider working in the state, Reuters reported Thursday. | The strict new laws are expected to be tied up in court. Even so, their passage is having an effect. On Wednesday, Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger, said it would be “very difficult” for the company to continue filming in Georgia if that state’s new, restrictive abortion law is implemented. Other media companies — including WarnerMedia and Netflix — have said they would also reconsider working in the state, Reuters reported Thursday. |
| Abortion politics have changed dramatically since the election of President Trump. His two new appointments on the Supreme Court have shifted the math in favor of conservatives on the issue, and activists on both sides are holding their breath — in excitement and in fear — for what might come next. | Abortion politics have changed dramatically since the election of President Trump. His two new appointments on the Supreme Court have shifted the math in favor of conservatives on the issue, and activists on both sides are holding their breath — in excitement and in fear — for what might come next. |
| So far, the court has held back. On Tuesday, it sidestepped part of a case that could have tested the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, turning down an appeal to reinstate a strict Indiana abortion law. | So far, the court has held back. On Tuesday, it sidestepped part of a case that could have tested the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, turning down an appeal to reinstate a strict Indiana abortion law. |
| Missouri has been on the front line of the abortion wars, with increasingly stringent laws leaving the state with one clinic. But the conflict that flared this week seemed to have little to do with legislation. | Missouri has been on the front line of the abortion wars, with increasingly stringent laws leaving the state with one clinic. But the conflict that flared this week seemed to have little to do with legislation. |
| It began with the audit, a type of annual inspection, which started in early March. The state found what it said were deficiencies and the clinic submitted its plan for correcting them on April 9. | It began with the audit, a type of annual inspection, which started in early March. The state found what it said were deficiencies and the clinic submitted its plan for correcting them on April 9. |
| In a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Parson said the audit uncovered serious health concerns, some of which had still not been addressed to the state’s satisfaction. He said there was “significant medical evidence showing three failed surgical abortions,” including one in which the patient had to be taken to a hospital for surgery. | In a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Parson said the audit uncovered serious health concerns, some of which had still not been addressed to the state’s satisfaction. He said there was “significant medical evidence showing three failed surgical abortions,” including one in which the patient had to be taken to a hospital for surgery. |
| He said the health department was asking to interview seven of the clinic’s doctors, including fellows and residents, but that only two doctors agreed — Dr. David Eisenberg and Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the clinic’s senior doctors. They talked to health officials on Tuesday. | He said the health department was asking to interview seven of the clinic’s doctors, including fellows and residents, but that only two doctors agreed — Dr. David Eisenberg and Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the clinic’s senior doctors. They talked to health officials on Tuesday. |
| Helene Krasnoff, head of litigation at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the doctors work for a local hospital and have separate legal representation. She said the state has not given details on the scope of what it wants to ask, nor has it offered any assurances that there would not be legal — or even criminal — consequences. | Helene Krasnoff, head of litigation at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the doctors work for a local hospital and have separate legal representation. She said the state has not given details on the scope of what it wants to ask, nor has it offered any assurances that there would not be legal — or even criminal — consequences. |
| “At this point, we have reached an impasse,” Ms. Krasnoff said in a phone call with journalists on Tuesday. | “At this point, we have reached an impasse,” Ms. Krasnoff said in a phone call with journalists on Tuesday. |
| The state argued that the clinic has known for months that its license would expire on May 31, but the state health department didn’t receive its application for renewal until May 16, the day of the deadline. The state disputes the clinic’s claim that it does not have the authority to require the doctors to sit for interviews. The state says the clinic’s argument that its auditors are being unreasonable is wrong. | The state argued that the clinic has known for months that its license would expire on May 31, but the state health department didn’t receive its application for renewal until May 16, the day of the deadline. The state disputes the clinic’s claim that it does not have the authority to require the doctors to sit for interviews. The state says the clinic’s argument that its auditors are being unreasonable is wrong. |
| “This position is not arbitrary and capricious, but eminently reasonable, and it reflects decades of settled practice under the statute and regulations,” the state said in its court brief. | “This position is not arbitrary and capricious, but eminently reasonable, and it reflects decades of settled practice under the statute and regulations,” the state said in its court brief. |
| A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the group could not comment publicly on individual patient histories. But Dr. Leana Wen, the organization’s president, said in a statement: “We do everything to ensure our patients get the best medical care available. When we find anything that does not meet our high standards of care, we take swift action.” | A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the group could not comment publicly on individual patient histories. But Dr. Leana Wen, the organization’s president, said in a statement: “We do everything to ensure our patients get the best medical care available. When we find anything that does not meet our high standards of care, we take swift action.” |
| Anti-abortion activists contest the claim that a suspension of abortion services at the clinic would mean no abortion access in the area. They point out that a private clinic across the river in Granite City, Ill., offers surgical abortions, and that a Planned Parenthood facility in Belleville, Ill., less than 20 miles from St. Louis, offers medication abortions. | |
| About noon on Friday, a small crowd of anti-abortion protesters stood on the sidewalk outside the clinic, a large gray building whose first-floor windows are bricked up. The activists drew enthusiastic honks from passing cars. Drivers waved and gestured thumbs up. | About noon on Friday, a small crowd of anti-abortion protesters stood on the sidewalk outside the clinic, a large gray building whose first-floor windows are bricked up. The activists drew enthusiastic honks from passing cars. Drivers waved and gestured thumbs up. |
| Angelica Byers, 34, came with her 8-year-old daughter, who was lying on the grass staring into the sky. Ms. Byers said she had been involved in the anti-abortion movement from a young age, and she was feeling excited that the state’s last clinic might be forced to stop offering abortions. | Angelica Byers, 34, came with her 8-year-old daughter, who was lying on the grass staring into the sky. Ms. Byers said she had been involved in the anti-abortion movement from a young age, and she was feeling excited that the state’s last clinic might be forced to stop offering abortions. |
| “I came because I thought this was going to be a monumental day,” she said, stroking her daughter’s head. “I just wanted to be part of this day. If our state would be the first state to stop abortion, that would be amazing.” | “I came because I thought this was going to be a monumental day,” she said, stroking her daughter’s head. “I just wanted to be part of this day. If our state would be the first state to stop abortion, that would be amazing.” |
| She added, “It gives me hope that our fight is not in vain.” | She added, “It gives me hope that our fight is not in vain.” |