Rules leave Mo. with one abortion clinic

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri is down to one clinic providing abortions Wednesday, after the only other clinic in the state that performs the procedure failed to adhere to new state requirements and its license expired.

The Columbia clinic’s abortion license expired Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Great Plains spokeswoman Emily Miller said.

Federal appeals court judges also ruled last month that Missouri can enforce a requirement that doctors must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals before they can perform abortions.

The Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic has been unable to secure physician privileges or find a doctor with those privileges after a panel of medical staff at University of Missouri Health Care voted to stop offering those privileges altogether in 2015.

The clinic continues to provide other health care services.

“We are unable to provide abortion services now, so we’ve been working with patients who were on the schedule for today for abortion appointments to let them know what their alternatives are,” Miller said.

Women seeking abortions can go to Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis clinic or travel to neighboring states, she said. Planned Parenthood has argued in court filings that the additional distance women will need to travel will be burdensome and could make the procedure inaccessible to some.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office argued in court documents that the admitting privileges requirement “provides substantial benefits, such as ensuring that women have access to a treating physician, ensuring continuity of care, reducing the likelihood of unnecessary treatment, and providing women and the State with greater, more accurate information.”