The first elective abortion in Missouri following the state’s vote last November to enshrine abortion in the state constitution was celebrated by a Planned Parenthood personnel, with the abortion doctor who conducted the life-ending procedure as “incredibly meaningful.”
The surgical abortion took place Saturday morning, Feb. 15, performed on a woman in her first trimester, according to The Kansas City Star, which touted the fact it was “the only news organization inside the clinic as Planned Parenthood began once again offering abortion services” and further said, “no one passing by would have any inkling of the historic moment unfolding inside.” It was also the first abortion at the Kansas City abortion facility since 2018, the outlet reported.
Abortion had been banned in Missouri since the June 2022 Dobbs ruling except in cases of medical emergency until the passage of Amendment 3 in November. However, the legality of abortion was in limbo over state requirements for abortion facilities to hold state issued licenses and other regulations. Then late Friday afternoon, Feb. 14, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang blocked the state’s abortion facility licensing requirements.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains “rushed into action,” according to The Star, reaching out to “future patients” and securing a doctor to perform the Saturday morning abortion. The outlet also wrote about how Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ president and CEO reacted to the news of Zhang’s decision while at her child’s Valentine’s Day party.
Planned Parenthood had filed a lawsuit in December with the Jackson County Court regarding the state laws regulating abortion providers.
Along with licenses, safety procedures, accurate measurements in hallways, and a transfer protocol to hospitals were among state laws Zhang declared in his ruling were “discriminatory” and “unnecessary.”
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
While Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains swung open its doors for abortions Saturday morning, Feb. 15., and its Associate Medical Director called the abortion that morning “incredibly meaningful,” life advocates remarked how Missouri women will be negatively impacted by Zhang’s ruling and the passage of Amendment 3, which along with other state abortion ballot initiatives was passed amid pro-abortion media campaigns obscuring its specifics.
The president of Heartbeat International, the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the U.S. and globally, criticized the rejection of safety regulations for abortion facilities and noted that pregnancy centers in Missouri will continue to serve women regardless of their pregnancy decision or the legal status of abortion in the state.
"Women in Missouri will now be less protected, less cared for, and further objectified,” Jor-El Godsey told Pregnancy Help News. “These are the outcomes the abortion industry obscured during their media campaign for the abortion amendment that will be the new reality for Missourians.”
“Pregnancy help will be more important than ever in the Show-Me State,” Godsey said. “As the pro-life laws are systematically disassembled, pregnancy help centers stand as the frontline for life-affirming outreach to those facing an unintended pregnancy."
“It’s a sad day today because abortion has resumed in Missouri,” said Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop James Johnston in a Missouri Independent report.
Johnson was with a small group of pro-life advocates who demonstrated outside the Kansas City Planned Parenthood abortion facility on Monday, Feb. 17 in sub-freezing temperatures.
“My hope is that our lawmakers will see this as a matter of justice,” Johnson said.
Tweet This: It’s a sad day today because abortion has resumed in Missouri.
Coalition Life sidewalk advocates will remain praying outside Missouri abortion centers, the group's Executive Director Brian Westbrook said.
“The court’s decision marks a sad day for anyone who values the sanctity of life,” Westbrook said in a report from Live Action. “This ruling reinforces the need for pro-life agencies and advocates to offer life-affirming alternatives to women. Coalition Life remains steadfast in our mission to provide resources, education, and support to women facing unexpected pregnancies.”
Zhang’s comes on the heels of a New York Times report on “botched” abortions and other safety issues at Planned Parenthood as well as low staff morale at its centers.
Missouri Republican lawmakers are working on Amendment 3, hoping to return the state’s abortion ban and add exceptions for rape or incest up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is expected to appeal Zhang’s decision.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
