Judge says Missouri family planning clinic can not offer abortion



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A federal judge ruled that family planning in Missouri can not offer abortions.

Judge Brian Wimes of the Western District Federal Court said last Friday that state-imposed restrictions on clinics giving abortions did not constitute an "undue" burden on the women who sought them, according to L & # 39; Associated Press.

This decision was made only a few months after the filing by the board of a company in Great Plains, Great Plains, which runs a facility in Columbia, with the goal of starting to offer abortions again, reported The Missourian Columbia. . The facility has operated without these privileges because it does not fulfill state-imposed obligations requiring clinics to have doctors with admission privileges in a nearby hospital.

Wimes ruled Friday that the admission privileges did not concern enough women to register as an undue burden, according to reports. He also argued that forcing women to travel further to an abortion facility was not an undue burden.

The only clinic that offers abortions in Missouri is in St. Louis.

"In particular, (Planned Parenthood) did not present any evidence of an attempt to search for physicians with hospital privileges willing to provide abortion services at Columbia Center, nor any evidence of fewer doctors, more wait times. long and overcrowded to Louis who provides abortions), "said Wimes.

"Finally, the record provides no evidence base to estimate the number of women who will give up or delay surgical abortion due to the inoperability of the Columbia device," Wimes said in his judgment.

Dr. Brandon Hill, CEO and President of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, criticized the ruling, telling the PA that the Missouri law was "virtually identical" to the one the Supreme Court struck down in 2016.

"Let's call things the way they are: Politicians ignore medical evidence to put sexual and reproductive health care out of reach of Missouri residents," said Hill. "Abortion is incredibly safe, but politicians continue to apply restrictions that challenge medical experts and make abortion as inaccessible as possible. Missourians deserve better. "

The AP noted that Missouri and Planned Parenthood had been in dispute since 2016. The organization has challenged the state's licensing mandates at outpatient surgery centers and hospitals. Admission privileges at the time.

The FBI announced earlier this month that it was investigating a possible fire in the Columbia Clinic.

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