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Constitutional Rights and the Public’s Health

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

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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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