JURIST - Paper Chase: Missouri abortion law injunction upheld by 8th Circuit

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday upheld a narrower version of a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] imposed against Missouri's 24-hour informed consent abortion law [text]. In a 2-1 decision [full opinion, PDF], the court ordered the district court to issue a modified injunction that did not cover a basic consent process already upheld by the US Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey [opinion text]. The court also ordered that the injunction automatically expire 10 days after the Missouri Supreme Court [official website] issues a decision on the constitutionality of the law. The state court heard oral arguments in the case last week, but it has not yet ruled on the issue. Missouri [JURIST news archive] legislators passed the law, which requires doctors to wait 24 hours after meeting with a woman before performing an abortion, in 2003 over a veto by the governor. Planned Parenthood groups have challenged the law, arguing that the consultation requirements, which cover the "physical, psychological and situational" risks involved, were unconstitutionally vague. AP has more.

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