{"id":246951,"date":"2021-06-14T16:45:07","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T21:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=246951"},"modified":"2021-06-14T15:05:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T20:05:52","slug":"missouri-abortion-ban-blocked-discriminatory-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/missouri-abortion-ban-blocked-discriminatory-eight\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge blocks Missouri law banning discriminatory abortion and abortions at eight weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A Missouri law that would have banned abortions after eight weeks and in cases of a diagnosis<\/a> of Down syndrome has been blocked by a federal appeals court. Signed by Governor Mike Parsons in 2019<\/a>, the law would have given no exceptions for rape or incest but included an exception for medical emergencies involving the mother. Following the ruling, the state has announced its plans to pursue the case to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Previously, the law had been blocked<\/a> by U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs just one day before it was set to take effect. Sachs cited ‘viability’ as his reasoning. Yet “viability” is essentially a moving target with a very vague definition. Abortionist Colleen McNicholas admitted<\/a> in a 2019 hearing, “… [M]y practice includes abortion care through the point of viability, and as we previously discussed, that could be at any point.”<\/p>\n

The latest ruling<\/a> comes from a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the decision is being celebrated by Planned Parenthood.<\/p>\n