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Constitutional Rights and the Public’s Health

Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region, Inc. v. Parson

Overview

Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region, Inc. v. Parson (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, June 9, 2021): The 8th Circuit blocked Missouri laws that prohibit (1) abortions after 8, 14, 18, and 20 weeks of pregnancy; and (2) abortions performed “solely because of” a prenatal test result indicating the potential or presence of Down Syndrome. The court emphasized that although pre-viability regulations on abortions might be constitutional if not unduly burdensome, bans on pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional. The court classified the provisions at issue as bans rather than regulations because the laws did not set conditions that, once complied with, would make a pre-viability abortion lawful. Rather, the provisions completely restricted pre-viability abortions in each circumstance. Since the restrictions operate as bans on pre-viability abortions, the court found them unconstitutional. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – July 16, 2021.

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