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Abortion Stopped in Missouri Again in the Wake of State Supreme Court Ruling

CBS News, May 28, 2025

Planned Parenthood halted abortions in Missouri on Tuesday after the state’s top court ordered new rulings in the tumultuous legal saga over a ban that voters struck down last November. The state’s top court ruled that a district judge applied the wrong standard in rulings in December and February that allowed abortions to resume in the state. Nearly all abortions were halted under a ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In Tuesday’s two-page ruling, the court ordered Judge Jerri Zhang to vacate her earlier orders and reevaluate the case using the standards the court laid out. Zhang ruled that she was allowing abortions to resume largely because advocates were likely to prevail in the case eventually. The Supreme Court said it should first consider whether there would be harms from allowing abortions to resume. [T]he state said Zhang’s decisions left abortion facilities “functionally unregulated” and women with “no guarantee of health and safety.” Among the regulations that had been placed on hold were ones setting cleanliness standards for abortion facilities and requiring physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at certain types of hospitals located within 30 miles or 15 minutes of where an abortion is provided.

Reproductive Rights Advocates Sue Arizona Over Laws Regulating Abortion

Associated Press, May 22, 2025

Reproductive rights advocates sued Arizona on Thursday to unravel several laws regulating abortion in the state. The lawsuit was filed by two providers in the state and the Arizona Medical Association. It comes more than six months after voters enshrined in the state constitution access to abortions up to fetal viability, which is the point at which a fetus can survive outside of the uterus. The advocates are seeking to undo laws including those that bar abortions sought based on genetic abnormalities, require informed consent in-person at least 24 hours before the procedure and offer an opportunity to view the ultrasound, and prohibit abortion medication delivered by mail and the use of tele-health for abortion care. The state attorney general’s office is reviewing the complaint, and an agency spokesperson noted that state law should be in line with the amendment approved by voters last November. Arizona was one of a handful of states that passed ballot measures in the 2024 general election enshrining the right to abortion to their state constitutions.

Planned Parenthood To Close 8 Centers Across Iowa, Minnesota Amid Federal Funding Cuts

Axios, May 24, 2025

Planned Parenthood North Central States said Friday that it plans to close over a third of its health centers across Minnesota and Iowa and lay off dozens of staff members in light of looming federal funding cuts and other budget constraints. The announcement from Minnesota’s largest abortion provider came just one day after the U.S. House passed a reconciliation bill that it says would “defund” Planned Parenthood and make deep cuts to Medicaid funding. Leaders of the regional affiliate cited that move, along with the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $2.8 million in Title X funds used for birth control and cancer screenings and a proposal to cut teen pregnancy prevention aid as key factors in the decision to consolidate its centers. Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) says it provides sexual and reproductive health care, including abortions, to an estimated 93,000 people across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota each year. Over 30% of its patients rely on Medicaid, per a release. While federal funds generally cannot be used for abortions, critics of abortion rights have long sought to prevent any taxpayer money from flowing to the organization.

Texas OBGYN Praises Colorado’s EMTALA Protections, Ensuring Abortion Access

MSN, May 27, 2025

A bill requiring health care facilities across Colorado to provide emergency care to anyone who needs it will soon become law. Democratic Governor Jared Polis recently signed SB25-130. At its heart, the bill is a version at the state level of an existing federal law. Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) protections have been around federally for years. It requires emergency rooms to act to save a person’s life regardless of whether or not they can pay, their immigration status or whether they’d need an abortion. As abortion access is chipped away at in some states, access to EMTALA protections for abortion are being whittled away, too. But Dr. Lauren Thaxton, a Denver-area OBGYN, said these protections are lifesaving. Over the past few years, the question of who can receive abortion care and when they can receive it has gotten complicated, too. Thaxton said restrictions and limitations mean women in the United States are dying from preventable deaths. “I think that is absolutely the case, unfortunately,” she said. Thaxton made the move to Colorado from Texas after seeing women hurt, and providers handcuffed by abortion bans and restrictions. And with abortion access protected in Colorado, she’s still caring for patients from her home state.

Bill Curbing the Flow of Abortion Pills Into Texas Likely Dead

The Texas Tribune, May 28, 2025

A sweeping proposal to crack down on abortion pills is likely dead after it failed to meet a key deadline in the Texas House. The bill, which had support from state and national anti-abortion groups, was seen as the most aggressive attempt yet to stop the flow of abortion pills into the state. Senate Bill 2880 passed the Senate easily last month despite concerns from Democrats, but had languished in the House State Affairs committee before it passed out at the last minute. The report didn’t make it to the committee that schedules bills to come to the House floor in time to meet the Tuesday deadline. The bill would have allowed anyone who manufactured, distributed, prescribed or provided abortion pills to be sued for $100,000, expanded the wrongful death statute and empowered the attorney general to bring lawsuits on behalf of “unborn children of residents of this state.” The bill contained several unique legal provisions, including one that said the law could not be challenged in state court, prompting separation-of-powers concerns among legal experts. Any state judge who found the law unconstitutional could be personally sued for $100,000. In a session busy with other conservative priorities like school vouchers, THC, bail and voting, further restricting abortion pills fell down the priority list for some lawmakers, especially as a majority of Texas voters opposed authorizing private lawsuits against someone who provides abortion pills.

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It

Women and birthing people living in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border face persistent barriers to accessing the care they need, and the Trump Administration and Republican policymakers’ agenda is further exacerbating these challenges.

Read the blog post by Marla Guerra.

 

 

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Note: The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.