U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith today delayed until at least Sept. 10 the enforcement of a new Missouri law regulating abortion clinics. The law, which would require clinics in Kansas City and Columbia to upgrade their facilities, was scheduled to take effect Tuesday.
At a hearing last week, Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri Inc., testified that should the law be enforced, the clinics would have to end abortion services because of the high cost of upgrading the clinics, The Kansas City Star reported.
Under the new law, abortion clinics must meet standards required of ambulatory surgical centers. That includes staff training, sterilization and the design of operating and recovery rooms if a clinic performs at least five abortions a month or any second- or third-trimester abortions.
"It's not too much to require Planned Parenthood to meet basic standards of medical care to make women's health a priority," said Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "Their apparent unwillingness to do this calls into question their claim to care about women."
