REPRIEVE

Judge Blocks Missouri Officials From Closing State’s Only Abortion Clinic

Judge Michael Stelzer ruled that Planned Parenthood would keep its license for now.

A judge has blocked Missouri officials from shuttering the state’s only abortion clinic, which faced closure due to a licensing dispute, Politico reports. Judge Michael Stelzer—who had previously granted Planned Parenthood a temporary reprieve for its St. Louis clinic on the day its license to perform abortions was slated to expire—ruled that the nonprofit’s license would remain in effect for now. He also ordered state health officials to make a decision by June 21 regarding license renewal. The ruling prevented Missouri from becoming the first state without an abortion provider since Roe v. Wade in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court made the landmark decision to legalize the procedure. Republican Gov. Mike Parson and state health officials have contended that there have been numerous violations at the clinic that must be addressed in order to renew the license.