In Missouri, the abortion licence of the Saint-Louis Clinic, the only state clinic to perform abortions, was extended by the Court from 31 May to 4 June. The renewal of this licence shall remain pending until the new hearing, scheduled for Tuesday morning.
The abortion clinic in Saint-Louis, which is run by Planned Parenthood, filed a lawsuit against Governor Mike Parson after he decided not to renew its abortion licence “for reasons of non-compliance”. In fact, the Governor has accused the clinic of “wilfully and repeatedly violating state laws”, and health authorities say they have discovered “deficiencies” during a routine inspection last March; they “demand to interview all doctors who have performed abortions during the past year at the facility”. However, the clinic’s doctors “refuse to comply with for fear of criminal charges”. Consequently, the authorities refused to extend the clinic’s operating licence, “which was set to expire at midnight on Friday”.
On Friday, in a tense context of pro- and anti-abortion demonstrations, the institution brought the case before the court. Judge Michael Stelzer issued his decision at the end of the day: considering that a closure of the facility would cause “immediate and irreparable harm”, he decided that the authorization to perform abortions would be extended beyond Friday’s midnight deadline, and asked for further consideration of the case after 4 June.
Republican Governor Mike Parson recently welcomed the fact that the number of abortions went “from 20,000 to 3,000″ in his state. If the renewal of the licence is not eventually granted to the Saint-Louis Clinic, Missouri will become the only U.S. state that does not offer abortion services.
AFP (31/05/2019 – 20h53) – La clinique du Missouri menacée peut continuer à pratiquer des avortements
AFP, Charlotte Plantive (31/05/2019 – 21h22) – La justice américaine offre un répit à l’unique clinique du Missouri où avorter
Photo : Pixabay/DR