Reproductive rights advocates say the Missouri Supreme Court has now stopped access to abortion in the state, subverting a constitutional amendment that last year created a “devastating setback” for patients who need immediate abortion care.
The state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a district judge must revoke two recent rulings issued by her, which issued a preliminary injunction to protect the right to abortion, last November, in Roev. After Wade fell, voters restored their abortion rights after the 2022 ban.
“The latest attack from the Missouri Supreme Court is unconstitutional, unreasonable and outright dirty politics,” said President Mini Timmaraju, Reproductive Freedom President, in his reaction to the ruling. “People across the country know that even if they organize, vote and pass measures to protect their reproductive care, extreme Republican actors will still try to take away our constitutional rights.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the ruling “a victory for women and children.” Bloomberg by Getty Images
The Missouri Supreme Court ruling depends on its conclusion that District Jerri Zhang uses the wrong criteria to make the decision. When she determined in December that the state’s nearly total miscarriage ban was unenforceable, and then removed abortion clinic licensing requirements and regulations in February, calling it “unnecessary” and “discriminatory,” she concluded that abortion rights advocates are likely to compete too much with the state on a larger scale.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week that Zhang first considered whether to allow abortion to continue to cause any harm. The decision gave Zhang the opportunity to revisit the case and reissue the ruling.
But for now, patients who need abortion in Missouri must leave the state for care.
“This decision has put our country under a de facto abortion ban, which has devastating for Missourians and the providers they trust through their personal health care decisions,” Emily Wales and Margot Riphagen said in a joint statement, respectively.
People who watch parties at the election night will react after the abortion rights amendment was passed in Missouri last November. By AP
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated the ruling, calling it “a victory for women and children.”
Bailey noted in a press release last week that Bailey was able to challenge Zhang's ruling because of the state's newly passed Senate Bill 22. The legislation allows Missouri Attorney General to appeal a preliminary injunction that prevents his office from enforcing existing laws.
Tuesday's ruling is the latest development in Missouri's ongoing abortion legal battle. In November, it became the first state to use voting measures to overturn an existing, comprehensive abortion ban, raising legal challenges for the state's Republican-controlled administration.
Earlier this month, state Republicans passed a referendum to revote abortions. The proposed amendment could appear before voters in November 2026, although Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe may call for a special election as soon as possible.
