Federal Judge Blocks Missouri’s 8-Week Abortion Ban

August 27, 2019 by Dan McCue
Federal Judge Blocks Missouri’s 8-Week Abortion Ban
Protesters opposed to Missouri's restrictive abortion law gather at the St. Louis arch and march to Gov. Mike Parson's office. (Jill Toyoshiba/Kansas City Star/TNS)

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Missouri law banning abortions after eight weeks, one of the most restrictive proposals nationwide.

The law, which included no exceptions for rape and incest, was signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in May and was set to take effect Wednesday. Similar laws have been struck down in North Dakota and Iowa.

U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs put the law on hold to allow the legal challenge against it to play out in court.

“The various sections specifying prohibitions on abortions at various weeks prior to viability cannot be allowed to go into effect on August 28, as scheduled,” Judge Sachs wrote in an 11-page opinion.

“However formulated, the legislation on its face conflicts with the Supreme Court ruling that neither legislative or judicial limits on abortion can be measured by specified weeks or development of a fetus; instead, ‘viability’ is the sole test for a State’s authority to prohibit abortions where there is no maternal health issue,” Sachs wrote.

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed the lawsuit shortly after Parson signed the abortion bill into law, arguing it was unconstitutional and violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Attorneys for the state have made several arguments about why the law should stand.

Initially they said lawmakers’ goal in passing the restrictions was to protect fetal life and protect women. Then they came back and said courts have allowed limits on abortions based on the gestational age of the fetus.

Most recently, on Monday, Missouri Solicitor General John Sauer simply argued that the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the law.

Federal law allows states to prohibit abortions after fetuses are viable outside the womb, which can be from 24 to 28 weeks.

Missouri already has some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion regulations. Just one clinic in the state performs abortions.

A+
a-
  • Abortion
  • court ruling
  • Missouri
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Law

    March 25, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    DC Attorney General Warns Sports Teams About Relocating to Virginia

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the city’s latest bid to keep them from relocating to Northern Virginia. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told Monumental Sports and Entertainment in a letter last week... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

    March 20, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Trump Wins Right of Appeal to Try to Disqualify Georgia Prosecutor

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in his upcoming criminal trial in Atlanta on charges of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election vote count in Georgia. Trump asked the judge overseeing... Read More

    Pro-Trump Michigan Attorney Arrested After Hearing in DC Over Leaking Dominion Documents

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a... Read More

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C. Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a hearing over possible sanctions against her... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Fani Willis Can Continue Case Against Trump With Single Condition, Judge Rules

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald... Read More

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald Trump and several others — as long as the prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship steps aside, a judge in Georgia ruled on Friday.... Read More

    March 13, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Georgia Judge Dismisses Some Charges Against Trump

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election won a partial court victory Wednesday. A Georgia judge dismissed six of the 41 charges against the former president and his accused fellow conspirators.... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top