Missouri Circuit Judge Hears Arguments in Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Abortion-Related Law Provision

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 02 Nov 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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LJackson County, Mo., Circuit Judge Charles Atwell on Thursday heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a provision in a new Missouri law (SB 1) that allows civil litigation to be brought against anyone who helps a minor obtain an abortion without parental or judicial consent, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Sedensky, AP/Kansas City Star, 10/27). Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri earlier this month filed the lawsuit saying the law could financially cripple some Planned Parenthood affiliates. Atwell last month issued a 15-day restraining order on enforcement of the law, saying it "threatens irreparable harm to plaintiffs and their patients by chilling the exercise of the rights to free speech as protected by both the Missouri and United States Constitution" and is "potentially void for vagueness" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/28).

Arguments, Other Provision
The debate between PPKMM's attorney Eve Gartner and Missouri Assistant Attorney General Vickie Mahon, who is defending the law, seemed to "boil down" to a provision that says lawsuits can be brought against all who "intentionally cause, aid or assist" in a minor's abortion, according to the AP/Star. Gartner said advising pregnant girls, whether they have an abortion or not, could be considered a violation of the law. However, Mahon said, "You can't piecemeal this and cut it up and look at 'aid and assist' by itself," adding, "You have to employ common sense in what was the Legislature's intent." Atwell said he intended to rule on the case next month. The law also includes a provision that requires abortion providers to obtain hospital privileges within 30 miles of their clinics (AP/Kansas City Star, 10/27). The Center for Reproductive Rights in U.S. District Court in western Missouri earlier this month filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Springfield Health Care Center seeking an injunction to prevent that provision of the law from taking effect, but the suit was dropped after the clinic unexpectedly closed (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/24).

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Examines Clinic's Closing and Abortion Debate
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday examined how "[s]uch polarized perspectives" on the Springfield Health Care Center "highlight the continued tensions in the region, the state and the nation more than 32 years after the Roe v. Wade ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of legalized abortion." Springfield Health Care Center clinic administrator Michelle Collins said the clinic's closing will not affect the number of abortions performed in Missouri but will require women to travel farther to undergo the procedure. With the clinic's closing, only two abortion clinics remain in Missouri -- St. Louis' Reproductive Health Services, which is run by Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, and a clinic in Columbia that is operated by PPKMM. Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri has no plans to open an abortion clinic in the area, Kelli Rohrbaugh, the affiliate's public affairs coordinator, said (Mannies, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/27).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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