US court allows restrictive Missouri abortion law to be enforced

Activists call decision 'just a preview of what could happen if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed'

Pro-choice marchers holding signs in Missouri (Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images)

A US appeals court has allowed a stringent state abortion law to move forward, raising the stakes of a coming vote on Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals in St Louis vacated a lower court ruling on Monday, allowing Missouri to enforce a restrictive abortion law. The law requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, and requires abortion clinics to be licensed as hospital-grade, ambulatory surgical centres.

These strenuous requirements are difficult for many abortion providers to meet, and could result in a number of clinics being shuttered – one of the reasons the Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Texas in 2016.

But the Missouri appeals court tried to distinguish its decision from the Supreme Court’s nationwide edict, noting that it was possible for some Missouri clinics to obtain waivers from the requirement. The judges also claimed the lower court had failed to fully weigh the benefits of requiring doctors to be affiliated with local hospitals.

“Invoking the Constitution to enjoin the laws of a state requires more than ‘slight implication and vague conjecture',” wrote US Circuit Judge Bobby Shepherd. “At a minimum, it requires adequate information and correct application of the relevant standard.”

The Missouri Department of Health and Human Service said it would “immediately” begin enforcing the requirements at abortion facilities, and Planned Parenthood said its Missouri clinics could see the impacts within weeks. The group will have to suspend abortion services in the city of Columbia, and will delay plans to expand into Joplin and Springfield, according to the Kansas City Star.

The decision also attracted national attention, coming on the heels of Senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Mr Trump’s latest pick for the Supreme Court. The nominee is widely seen as pro-life, and could tip the balance of the Court against Roe v Wade – the landmark ruling that made abortion legal across the country.

If a law like Missouri’s made its way to a pro-life Court, it could open the door for states across the country to pass similarly restrictive legislation, explained Heather Shumaker of the National Women's Law Centre. In some cases, the attorney said, these challenges could put the entire Roe ruling in jeopardy.

“This is exactly why we’re working so hard to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court right now: because poor interpretations of the law in court lead to real women facing unnecessary and unfair hurdles to getting the care they deserve,” said Alison Dreith, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, in a statement.

She added: “Today’s disappointing decision is just a preview of what could happen if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed."