Missouri’s Planned Parenthood clinics have received the green light to continue providing abortions, following a decisive ruling by a state appeals court. The court determined that a prior order from a lower court was within its legal bounds.

The ruling, detailed in a 40-page document from the Western District Court of Appeals, represents a setback for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which has been pushing to reinstate several abortion restrictions. The appeals court’s role was to ascertain whether Judge Jerri Zhang of the 16th Judicial Circuit had overstepped with her preliminary injunction, and it concluded that she had not.

The roots of this legal battle trace back to November 2024, when Missouri residents voted in favor of the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, embedding reproductive rights into the state’s constitution.

Despite the constitutional amendment, the state government enacted several restrictive measures on reproductive healthcare. These included bans on telemedicine appointments for medication abortions and mandates for patients to attend two in-person consultations with the same physician at least 72 hours apart. Planned Parenthood contested these measures, claiming they breached the newly established constitutional rights.

Judge Zhang’s preliminary injunction effectively dismantled these longstanding restrictions. According to the Missouri Independent, this decision has enabled Planned Parenthood clinics in Columbia, Kansas City, and St. Louis to resume offering procedural abortions after a prolonged hiatus.

Former state Attorney General Andrew Bailey challenged the injunction, arguing that it wasn’t necessary. There was no risk of “irreparable harm,” the state argued, because Missouri residents who wanted an abortion, for example, could travel to neighboring states to get one.

Western District Court of Appeals Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer saw this argument as “disingenuous,” as residents of the state voted to avoid that specific outcome. He wrote:

In essence, the State does not deny that Missouri citizens adopted Section 36 to the Missouri Constitution so that Missouri residents would not have to travel to a different state to receive abortion care; but, during the pendency of this litigation the State proposes that that is precisely what Missouri residents should be required to do, so that Missouri statutes prohibiting elective abortion care in Missouri will override the Missouri Constitution during the pendency of this litigation. This argument lacks any precedential support.”

“As the circuit court discussed in its ruling below, the irreparable harm flowing from a denial of abortion care within the confines of the Missouri Constitution Article I, Section 36, are unique because an abortion decision by an expectant mother ‘simply cannot be postponed, or it will be made by default with far-reaching consequences,’” he added.

Bailey is no longer the state’s attorney general; that position is held by Catherine Hanaway. But the state has forged ahead with its legal strategy. Hanaway’s office said Tuesday’s ruling “puts women in danger and undermines Missouri’s ability to protect patients,” per the Missouri Independent.

A bench trial to consider making the preliminary injunction permanent is set for January. Zhang is also considering a separate request from Planned Parenthood concerning other state regulations, specifically medications used for abortion procedures.