St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic waiting on state health department to resume abortions

Missouri Planned Parenthood leaders breathed a sigh of relief this month when a judge blocked licensing requirements that they contended impeded abortion access.

But roughly a week after Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang’s ruling, officials at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which encompasses the St. Louis region, haven’t resumed the procedure yet.

During an interview on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers’ Nick Dunne said his agency is waiting for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to approve what’s known as a complication plan.

That’s a road map of sorts, Dunne said, that spells out what clinics would do if there's a medical emergency after someone has a medication abortion.

“Once approved, we will begin offering medication abortion again in our Central West End clinic in the St. Louis area,” Dunne said. He said it likely will be several months before the clinic offers procedural abortions.

Zhang’s decision prompted other Planned Parenthood affiliates around the state to ramp up access to abortion for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Kansas City’s Planned Parenthood facility performed its first abortion in years, while the agency’s Columbia clinic is planning on resuming the procedure in the coming weeks.

Dunne said that complication plans are required only for medication abortions. He added that Planned Parenthood Great Rivers’ counterpart on the western side of the state, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, is also submitting a complication plan.

Dunne said he doesn’t know the health department’s timeline. A department spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment on when a complication plan could be approved.

“This is a pretty standard plan,” Dunne said. “It's been submitted before, prior to our total ban in Missouri. And so we are hoping that this process will be expedited because of its similarities.”

A watershed decision

Zhang granted a wide-ranging preliminary injunction in December 2024 that blocked a slew of abortion laws, including the near-total ban on the procedure. But Planned Parenthood’s attorneys asked her to reconsider the licensing requirements, contending that it ran afoul of a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.

Zhang ultimately agreed to freeze that law before the case goes to trial in 2026. Some Republicans have contended that it would allow clinics that provide abortions to operate without regard to the health and safety of women.

“By striking down Missouri's licensing requirements, the court has prioritized the abortion industry over women's safety,” Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said last week. “These laws existed to protect women from unsafe conditions and reckless providers.”

Dunne said the licensing requirements were inherently discriminatory against abortion clinics and added that Planned Parenthood facilities will be on equal footing with other outpatient facilities.

“Previously Planned Parenthood health centers were held to a much higher standard with requirements that were not even medically necessary that included pelvic exams for patients, even if they're seeking medication abortion or mandating certain widths for doorways and hallways,” Dunne said. “None of those had anything to do with patient health or safety.”

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.