Planned Parenthood to restart medication abortion following Jackson County court ruling

By: Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -- After a weeks-long trial and months of court deliberations, appointments for medical abortions are now accessible in Missouri.

According to the ACLU, starting Monday, patients seeking an abortion can book their appointment online at plannedparenthood.org. Patients can also call 1-800-230-PLAN to schedule their appointments.

Columbia's Planned Parenthood clinic plans to begin medical abortion appointments on Wednesday.

This restart comes after Jackson County Circuit Court judge Jerri Zhang ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood on Thursday evening.

"We opened up appointments end of last week and began seeing folks first thing this morning here in Saint Louis," Margot Riphagen-Dunn, the CEO for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said. "I want to stress how quickly we have begun taking and seeing patients, it just shows how much folks want to get care where they live in their own state."

"Since Missourians voted for abortion access in 2024, it has been impossible to access the full spectrum of abortion care in our own state. That ends today," Margot Riphagen-Dunn, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said Friday in a statement.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a Thursday press release that her office plans to appeal the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court.

"This radical decision gives abortion providers a free pass to police themselves," Hanaway said in the statement, "None of this is what Missourians voted for."

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday agreed with Hanaway's statement and stood by the office's decision to appeal the ruling.

"Yesterday’s ruling in Jackson County is disappointing, dangerous, and puts the safety of Missouri women in jeopardy," Kehoe said in a statement.

According to Planned Parenthood, the abortion pill can be taken up to 12 weeks, while in-clinic procedures, which they have been providing, are available up to 18 weeks. The group maintains that the decision helps give people options, especially patients who may be uncomfortable with the abortion procedure.

"Some reasons for that may be that a patient wants to avoid a pelvic exam, they might have a history of trauma or sexual assault," Dr. Selina Sandoval at Planned Parenthood Great Plains said. "Other patients might feel like they have comfort measures and stress relievers in their own home that can help them through this process."

Abortion access was initially approved by voters back in November 2024 through Amendment 3, with Zhang temporarily blocking state abortion restrictions. Abortions were set to resume in February 2025.

The Missouri Supreme Court later overruled Zhang in May 2025, with Zhang blocking the ruling in July 2025, leading to January's court proceedings.

During the trial, Planned Parenthood argued that the current state regulations were unreasonable and difficult to achieve, and unfairly unique to Missouri abortion clinics only. The state argued that Missouri laws were in place for the physical and mental health and safety of patients.

The Missouri General Assembly also wrote and passed several joint resolutions to repeal Amendment 3 in May 2025. The resolutions created a new Amendment 3 now with exceptions, only allowing abortions up to 12 weeks in cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies, and when there is a fetal anomaly. Voters are set to decide on the measure in November 2026.