The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri will be expanding their abortion services to more clinics after a state law regulating the procedure was halted by a judge.
The law, according to the Star, required doctors who perform abortion procedures, to meet the same standards as outpatient surgical centers and have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Last year, in Texas, a similar was struck down by the United States Supreme Court.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri and Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ spokespersons announced that as a result of the court ruling, they will be performing abortions at four more clinics, which will be in Kansas City, Joplin, Columbia, and Springfield.
Spokespersons for the affiliates, Mary Kogut and Laura McQuade, announced in a joint statement that “we are excited to end Missouri’s shameful one-provider status, and soon be offering four more locations where women can access safe, legal abortion without facing geographical obstacles.”
“We are proud to say this is a step forward in ensuring abortion is more than a right in name only,” they said.
In a statement to the Star, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is a Republican, said that he will be looking to challenge the decision.
“Today a federal court struck down large portions of Missouri law that protect the health and safety of women who seek to obtain an abortion,” Hawley said. “This decision was wrong. I will appeal.”
“Missouri has an obligation to do everything possible to ensure the health and safety of women undergoing medical procedures in state licensed medical facilities,” he added.