Missouri is on the verge of eliminating the final abortion clinic in the state, whose fate will be decided by the end of the week.
State officials have until June 21 to decide whether to reissue the license for the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis. The decision will be based on the May 2019 report from the annual inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The report details four failed abortions at the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, according to the Kansas City Star.
State officials have declined to reissue the clinic's license so far, citing the violations they found in the report.
The Star explained that the state's report detailed four major cases with complications. All four of the cases involved failed abortions, with two resulting in hospitalization. Inspectors cited the clinic for 30 violations overall and the state said that it will not reauthorize the abortion clinic's license until it is able to talk to all of the doctors who were involved with the four incidents.
In 2017, roughly 3,900 abortions resulted in 86 separate complications at the clinic, according to the Star. This number is in line with other states, such as California.
In a May news release from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, officials stated that the Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state. A St. Louis judge addressed the lawsuit by ruling that the clinic could stay open temporarily pending a state decision concerning its long-term license.
Planned Parenthood has repeatedly insisted that its clinic has been in compliance with state law.
If the clinic loses its license, it will remain open, but will not be able to provide abortion services. It will still offer cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and other health services.
If the state decides not to renew the license, Missouri would become the first state in the nation to not have any abortion clinics.
Last month, the state passed one of the strictest pro-life pieces of legislation in the country. The bill prohibits abortion after eight weeks, with exceptions in cases where the health of the mother is at risk. It also protects fetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome from being aborted.