The only abortion clinic in Missouri will remain open following a state administrative commission's ruling on Friday that found the state wrongfully held back Planned Parenthood's license to deliver reproductive health services last year in St. Louis.
The new ruling keeps Missouri from becoming the first state since 1974 without an abortion clinic.
Missouri Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi reversed a decision from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services not to renew the facility's license in 2019, closing down the last abortion provider in the state.
“In over 4,000 abortions provided since 2018, the Department has only identified two causes to deny its license,” Dandamudi wrote in the decision, adding that Planned Parenthood has “substantially complied with pertinent statutes and regulations.”
“Therefore, Planned Parenthood is entitled to renewal of its abortion facility license,” Dandamudi said.
It's unclear whether the state's attorney general will overturn the ruling on behalf of the Missouri Health Department.
"Today’s ruling is vindication for Planned Parenthood and our patients who rely on us. But the reality is, abortion has essentially become a right in name only in Missouri," Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said in a statement.
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