Missouri's only abortion clinic to challenge state shutdown order
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The fate of Missouri's only abortion clinic is at stake on Monday, as a state arbiter hears arguments from Planned Parenthood and state officials who have threatened to close the clinic and make Missouri the sole U.S. state without legal abortion services.
Planned Parenthood, the women's healthcare and abortion provider that operates the facility, sued the state health department in June for its refusal to renew the St. Louis clinic's license. The state court judge presiding over the case referred the matter to the Administrative Hearing Commission, an independent arbiter.
The commission granted a stay in June allowing the clinic to continue providing abortion services until the hearing, which is scheduled to run several days.
Missouri health officials earlier this year declined to renew the clinic's license on the grounds that it failed to meet their standards, which included mandatory interviews with several physicians who were involved in what the health department said were multiple life-threatening abortions at the clinic.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/missouris-only-abortion-clinic-to-challenge-state-shutdown-order/ar-AAJsJdd?li=BBnbcA1
