The Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City is pictured on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a Jackson County judge to vacate her previous rulings that have allowed abortions to resume in the state this year.
The Supreme Court order, signed by Chief Justice Mary R. Russell, directed Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang to reevaluate Planned Parenthood’s request to preliminarily block state abortion laws.
The decision delighted abortion opponents while leaders of the state’s two Planned Parenthood chapters said it “puts our state back under a de facto abortion ban.â€
Voters chose to protect abortion rights through last year’s Amendment 3. After that, Zhang’s two rulings in December and February, respectively, effectively allowed abortions to resume in the state.
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Her December ruling temporarily halted the state’s near-total abortion ban and other laws. Zhang’s February order blocked specialty licensing requirements for abortion facilities.
In March, Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis clinic resumed surgical abortions.
A trial on the fate of Missouri’s abortion laws — which the state could then appeal — had been set for January 2026.
But Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, asked the Missouri Supreme Court on March 21 for an order forcing Zhang to vacate her orders.
The state argued Missouri women would suffer irreparable harm if its request was not granted and that Zhang used the wrong standard to enjoin almost all of Missouri’s abortion laws.
The Supreme Court ruled in the state’s favor on Tuesday.
“Today’s decision from the Missouri Supreme Court is a win for women and children and sends a clear message — abortion providers must comply with state law regarding basic safety and sanitation requirements,†Bailey said in a statement.
Other abortion opponents also celebrated the ruling.
“We’re very pleased that the Missouri Supreme Court has in effect upheld Missouri’s pro-life laws — at least for now,†said Sam Lee, longtime lobbyist for Campaign Life Missouri. “Planned Parenthood will soon stop ... being able to do abortions.â€
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, called the Supreme Court’s decision “devastating for Missourians and the providers they trust with their personal health care decisions.â€
In a joint statement, Wales and Riphagen said, “At Planned Parenthood health centers across Missouri, our patients remain our north star, and we will continue to fight for their freedom to the constitutionally protected health care they voted for.â€
Mallory Schwarz, director of Abortion Action Missouri, an abortion-rights group, said in a statement Bailey and anti-abortion politicians have “weaponized our political system against Missourians.â€
“Our coalition has dealt with setbacks like this before, and we know how to support people accessing care despite a hostile political environment,†Schwarz said.
“This is not over,†she said, “and I’m confident that ultimately abortion care will continue in Missouri.â€
The ACLU of Missouri, which helped argue the case in Jackson County, said in a statement Tuesday its arguments met the legal standard described by the Supreme Court.
“We will be in communication with the court promptly, highlighting that our arguments met this standard, and we anticipate new orders complying with the peremptory writ and granting the preliminary injunctions blocking the ban and restrictions, once again allowing Missourians access to abortion care,†said ACLU spokesman Tom Bastian.
The court’s ruling Tuesday follows an effort in the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal Amendment 3 at the ballot box.
Republican legislators earlier this month voted to send a new proposed constitutional amendment to voters that would repeal the broad right to reproductive freedom granted in Amendment 3 and replace it with one allowing for abortions in limited circumstances.
The Republican-backed question, set to appear on the November 2026 ballot, would allow abortions in rape and incest cases up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in fetal anomalies and medical emergencies.
Amendment 3 protects abortion rights up to the point of fetal viability.
Pro-abortion rights protesters gathered at the Missouri Capitol on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, after the Senate pushed through a ballot measure that, if approved, would ban most abortions in Missouri. (Video by The Associated Press)
