KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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Both sides rested their cases Monday afternoon in a 10-day trial to determine abortion access in Missouri after voters legalized the procedure in 2024.
The ACLU and Planned Parenthood sued the state of Missouri the day after 52% of Missourians approved Amendment 3 in November 2024.
Their lawsuit asked a judge to throw out about 30 laws regulating abortion. They argue clinics cannot perform the procedure as Missourians approved with the regulations, going as far to say many of the regulations do not serve a medical purpose.
The state argued the laws do not outright ban abortion and are necessary to protect women.
Many of the laws in question are called TRAP laws, or targeted restrictions on abortion providers.
These are regulations only abortion clinics face.
They include requirements that hallways be a certain width or recovery rooms have a certain number of chairs, they require patients wait 72 hours after visiting a clinic before undergoing an abortion, and require clinics to get a special license from the state.
Supporters insist abortion would still be safe if the judge removed the regulations.
“What abortion healthcare centers will have if those [trap laws] are struck down are the same regulation of any other medical office,” explained Gillian Wilcox, ACLU of Missouri legal director. “We’re not asking for anything more or less. We want these healthcare centers to be treated the exact same way as other health centers.”
Representatives from the Missouri Attorney General’s office did not issue a statement or take questions following the trial’s conclusion.
During closing arguments, the assistant solicitor general said the state can’t rely on a “scout’s honor” from abortion clinics to do the right thing.
Judge Jerri Zhang gave each side until April 10 to submit any additional information for her to consider in her ruling. It’s unlikely she will make a ruling until after that date.
After a preliminary ruling in February of 2025, Planned Parenthood began offering in-clinic, procedural abortions. Medicated abortions, the more common option, are not available under the current rules according to Planned Parenthood.
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