ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, has upheld a Jackson County judge’s order temporarily blocking enforcement of several state abortion restrictions challenged by Planned Parenthood, ruling that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in granting partial preliminary injunctive relief.
The decision comes in an appeal following a complex series of court rulings that began after Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom in November 2024.
The measure, known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, added Section 36 to the Missouri Constitution. One day after its passage, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri filed suit in Jackson County Circuit Court seeking to stop enforcement of Missouri’s abortion bans and related regulatory statutes.
Planned Parenthood’s petition named the state of Missouri, the Department of Health and Senior Services, several state medical licensing boards and Gov. Michael Parson, former Attorney General Andrew Bailey, DHSS Director Paula Nickelson, and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, among others.
The lawsuit argued that Missouri’s abortion bans and restrictions conflict with the newly enacted constitutional right to reproductive freedom and should be permanently enjoined.
The challenged statutes included Missouri’s total abortion ban enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as well as multiple gestational age bans at eight, 14, 18 and 20 weeks.
Other contested provisions prohibited abortions sought because of the fetus’s sex, race or Down Syndrome diagnosis, and imposed strict regulations on abortion providers, including facility licensing rules, admitting privilege requirements, informed consent laws, waiting periods telemedicine restrictions and bans on advanced practice clinicians performing abortions.
In December 2024, after reviewing extensive briefing and oral arguments, Judge Jerri J. Zhang of the Jackson Circuit Court granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of most of the challenged provisions, though she allowed some regulations to remain in effect. The state’s motions to dismiss and transfer venue were denied.
The state appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred on numerous grounds, including Planned Parenthood’s legal standing, venue, failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and its likelihood of success on the merits.
After reconsideration, Zhang issued a new order on July 3, again granting a preliminary injunction against enforcement of several abortion-related laws.
The injunction covered Missouri’s abortion facility licensing and hospital relationship requirements, medication abortion complication regulations, informed consent laws, pathology requirements, waiting periods, the telemedicine ban and certain criminal penalties against providers.
The state again appealed, this time directly to the Missouri Supreme Court, arguing that the high court held exclusive jurisdiction under Article V, Section 3 of the Missouri Constitution.
The Supreme Court, however, transferred the case to the Missouri Court of Appeals, directing it to determine whether the circuit court abused its discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction.
In its opinion, the appellate panel, which was comprised of Chief Judge Anthony Rex Gabbert, Judge Alok Ahuja and Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer, affirmed the lower court’s order.
The panel found that Zhang’s ruling was not clearly against the logic of the circumstances before her, nor was it arbitrary or unreasonable.
The judges noted that the circuit court is scheduled to hear further evidence on Planned Parenthood’s renewed motions for preliminary relief and that a three-day bench trial on the merits of the case is set to begin on Jan. 12, 2026.
The appeals court stressed that its decision does not resolve the constitutionality of Missouri’s abortion laws but only determines that the trial court acted within its discretion in temporarily halting enforcement of certain provisions pending trial.
The Missouri Court of Appeals concluded that the circuit court had carefully considered the relevant legal standards, weighed the balance of harms and did not act arbitrarily in granting partial injunctive relief.
The ruling means that several of Missouri’s abortion-related laws will remain unenforceable while the broader constitutional challenge proceeds toward trial in early 2026.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District case number: WD88244
