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 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.
Planned Parenthood officials have said they do not directly employ
all the clinic's staff and cannot force them to give interviews. The
organization has said the state's effort to close the clinic is
politically motivated, which the state denies.
"Regardless of if you support abortion or not, Planned Parenthood
should be able to meet the basic standards of healthcare under the
law," Missouri Governor Mike Parson said at a news conference in May
as he defended the move.
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Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in the United States,
with opponents citing religious beliefs to declare it immoral, while
abortion-rights activists say the procedure is legally protected and
that bans rob women of control over their bodies and futures.
Missouri is one of 12 states to pass laws restricting abortion
access this year, some aimed at provoking a U.S. Supreme Court
review of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized a
woman's constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy.
Last week, Planned Parenthood opened an abortion clinic just 13
miles (21 km) from the St. Louis clinic in Fairview Heights,
Illinois, capable of treating up to 11,000 patients per year.
"While we continue the fight to maintain access in Missouri, we are
excited to expand our abortion services in Illinois," Colleen
McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood's southwest
regional chapter, said in a statement.
(Writing by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill
Berkrot)
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