Planned Parenthood

As of 8 a.m. Monday morning, abortions were once again available in Columbia. The procedure has been inaccessible to those living in mid-Missouri since the last abortion was performed at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic in 2018.

Temporary motions have put a hold on the state’s near-total abortion ban, but a trial will need to take place to overturn the ban permanently.

A Kansas City judge on Friday ruled that licensing requirements that were keeping clinics from providing abortions were discriminatory. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers this week will begin offering its first abortion appointments in years.

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November 2024, enshrining the right to an abortion. The procedure still isn't available in the state, as a judge considers Planned Parenthood's lawsuit to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law.

Margot Riphagen has been Planned Parenthood Great Rivers’ vice president of external affairs since April of last year. She was a leader in the coalition of abortion rights supporters that led to Amendment 3 passing in Missouri.

Chief Financial Officer Tonya Tucker will serve as interim CEO while the organization searches for a permanent replacement.

Advocates for abortion rights cheered when voters approved Amendment 3, which enshrined the right to an abortion in the Missouri Constitution. But nearly two months after the ballot initiative passed, the procedure still isn’t available in the state.

Because some licensing restrictions are still on the books, Planned Parenthood providers said they cannot perform abortions even after an order lifted the state's overall abortion ban.

After Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November, enshrining the right to an abortion, Planned Parenthood sued to strike down several abortion restrictions in state law. A judge on Friday blocked some but not all of the restrictions.

Judge Jerri Zhang has yet to issue her ruling in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood that seeks to strike down the state’s ban on abortions. A voter-approved amendment protecting abortion access goes into effect Friday.