A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new Missouri law that would have caused several Planned Parenthood clinics to close. The law, which was intended to take effect on Tuesday, would have placed abortion clinics under state supervision under the category of “outpatient surgery centers,” requiring them to meet standards that Planned Parenthood says are “medically unnecessary,” according to the Associated Press.
Planned Parenthood of Missouri contended that the law would “harm women by dramatically reducing the clinics available to provide [abortions],” according to the Associated Press. Since many of its clinics would have been unable to meet state standards for surgery centers, they would have been forced to close or to implement major renovations.
“Of all the establishments that dispense medication (e.g., doctor’s offices, pharmacies),” wrote US District Judge Ortie Smith in his decision to issue a temporary injunction, “why is it only those that dispense medication for the purpose of inducing an abortion that must be prepared to perform surgery?”
Judge Smith scheduled a September 10 hearing to determine whether to issue a permanent injunction.
