U.S. appeals court says Missouri can enforce abortion laws

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for Missouri to enforce state laws requiring doctors who perform abortions to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of those laws and opened the door for more abortion providers to operate in the state, which at the time had only one.

Monday’s decision comes in a 2016 lawsuit filed by affiliates of the women’s health organization Planned Parenthood in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that year that struck down similar abortion restrictions in Texas.

The Missouri laws require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, which can be difficult to obtain, and for abortion clinics to have costly hospital-grade facilities to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-missouri-abortion/u-s-appeals-court-says-missouri-can-enforce-abortion-laws-idUSKCN1LQ28U