8:55 a.m. ET, May 31, 2019
Today could be the last day Missouri offers abortion — unless a judge steps in
From CNN's Jessica Ravitz
The Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is the last location in the state performing abortions.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
The fate of abortion in Missouri
is in a judge's hands as Planned Parenthood fights the state for refusing to renew the license it needs to continue offering the service in its St. Louis clinic.
That annual license expires at the end of the day today, and without it, abortion services in Missouri will be no more — making it the first state in more than 45 years to no longer offer the procedure.
Remember: The lack of a license would not mean the end of the health center. It would still provide care including birth control, STD testing and treatment, cancer screenings and more, explained Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Bonyen Lee-Gilmore. But the reality of what this would mean for abortion access is stark.