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The state of Missouri has only one health center offering abortions as of Wednesday, in accordance with new state requirements. In this 2017 photo, supporters and opponents of family planning demonstrate and counter-protect in St. Louis.
Jim Salter / AP
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Jim Salter / AP
The state of Missouri has only one health center offering abortions as of Wednesday, in accordance with new state requirements. In this 2017 photo, supporters and opponents of family planning demonstrate and counter-protect in St. Louis.
Jim Salter / AP
Women seeking an abortion in Missouri can only turn to one clinic, after another family planning facility that has performed the procedure can not meet the new requirements imposed by the state.
This comes at a time when abortion rights activists fear the historic judgment of 1973 Roe v. Wade, who has legalized the abortion, could be overruled if Trump's Supreme Court candidate, Brett Kavanaugh, is confirmed.
In 2008, Missouri had five abortion clinics, according to Planned Parenthood. The Columbia health center in central Missouri on Wednesday became the last to stop performing abortions.
Under the new requirements, abortion providers must obtain admission privileges in hospitals located about 15 minutes from their health center.
"The idea behind this restriction is to make patients safer in cases of abortion-related complications," Planned Parenthood spokesperson Emily Miller told NPR, Great Plains. "But in reality, abortion is already incredibly safe and the ability of a patient to get help at the hospital is the same, regardless of whether the provider has privileges or not. # 39; admission ".
Miller says the privileges of the Columbia Health Center doctor were revoked in 2015 by University Hospital and that other surrounding hospitals denied him those privileges. "They will not offer her admission privileges because she is an abortion provider," Miller said.
NPR sought feedback from two neighboring hospitals that did not respond immediately.
Only the Planned Parenthood St Louis Clinic currently provides abortions.
"For some patients, that means they can do up to 400 km roundtrip to get abortion services," Miller said. "We are helping them understand what their options are, whether to continue their care in St. Louis or to cross borders."
In 2016, the US Supreme Court ruled that similar restrictions imposed on Texas were medically unnecessary.
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the Missouri requirements in November 2016. A legal battle ensued. A federal court of appeal decided in September that Missouri could enforce state laws. The judges issued a warrant for the conditions to come into effect on Monday.
Missouri is not the only state where only one facility provides abortions to women. According to a 2014 Guttmacher Institute report, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Mississippi are among the other states. 2018 is not the first time that Missouri has fallen into this category.
The Columbia Health Center remains open and still provides other health care services. Staff is waiting for the state to renew the clinic's one-year abortion license, which expired on Tuesday.
According to a court document, economics professor Jason M. Lindo claimed that if the clinic stopped performing abortions in Missouri, "we should expect an annual reduction of at least 22% in abortions. among the women served by this center ".
Meanwhile, Mary Kogut, president and chief executive of the branch that oversees Missouri's unique abortion clinic, will be leaving her office later this month, after more than 38 years at Planned Parenthood. .
Lawyers representing the organization seek to block the state's demands in federal court. "We hope the court will come to a swift decision because women will be immediately affected and their constitutional rights will be violated," said Dr. Brandon J. Hill, President and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Great Plains, in a statement. .
Samuel Lee, a lobbyist who has been campaigning for years for abortion restrictions in Missouri, said he thought "when the district court reviews the case, it will abide by the law because it protects the health and safety of women seeking abortions in Missouri impose an undue burden on them, "according to the Kansas City Star.
Planned Parenthood said Wednesday that 20 states are "on the verge of banning abortion" if Kavanaugh is upheld before the Supreme Court – and that 13 abortion cases are "a step away" of the supreme court of the country.
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