Trial date set for Amendment Three lawsuit as abortion remains banned in Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Missouri judge continued to weigh whether to overturn the state’s abortion ban after hearing arguments from state lawyers and Planned Parenthood representation.
Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit argued the ban is unconstitutional because Amendment Three guarantees access to abortion and other forms of birth control.
The fight continues after Zhang made the decision to grant a preliminary injunction in late December. Missourians had access to abortions effective then but, they could not restore care immediately because of the licensure process.
Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang has set the trial to start on January 12, 2026.
Gillian Wilcox, ACLU of Missouri’s Legal Director, said, “We are happy that the case is moving forward and we have confidence in the court that she’ll come to the right conclusion on the motions that she heard today.”
Friday’s arguments centralized on the wording, regulations, and requirements that abortion care clinics, hospitals, and other medical professionals have.
According to the ACLU of Missouri, the state’s physical facility licensure requirement targets abortion clinics by forcing providers like Planned Parenthood to obtain a license from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS). They argue that is unlike any other doctor’s office.
“Abortion facility licensing requirement was one of the requirements not ened in her first order and we as the plaintiff filed a motion asking her to reconsider that decision,” said Wilcox. “We wanted to bring forth more argument about why that particular requirement should be ened.”
Right now, hospitals can provide abortions and miscarriage care. Planned Parenthood can also provide miscarriage care.
That’s something Missouri’s Solicitor General Josh Divine continued to bring up to Zhang about how hospital operations differ from what Planned Parenthood suggests they’d offer. It is rare for hospitals to perform them still and it’s up to the hospital’s decision if they perform it, but it is possible.
“That really underscores why this licensure requirement is so discriminatory against general abortion providers,” said Ella Spottswood, Planned Parenthood Federation of America Senior Staff Attorney. “Abortion is available in the hospital under certain circumstances, you can’t just call a hospital and say schedule me for an abortion, that’s not how that works.”
Divine wanted to ensure facilities have what they need for patients to receive quality care like how they are constructed and the operational procedures surrounding inside.
“Ensure you have a facility that is up to code, that has smoke detectors, that has fire alarms, that has sterilized equipment,” he said. “We shouldn’t be running into the same situation we ran into in 2018 when Planned Parenthood was using molded abortion equipment on women.”
There are nine Planned Parenthoods across the state of Missouri that they said could be up and running to perform medicinal abortions within a week according to Spottswood. They said they could have procedural abortions ready in about two weeks.
But they will have to wait.
Zhang asked the two sides to return next week to the courts for a briefing about what kind of miscarriage care is being provided right now at the health centers across the state and more information about the regulations hospitals have to follow to allow for abortions to take place there.
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
