--- title: Judge: Missouri's Only Abortion Clinic to Stay Open for Now description: A judge granted Planned Parenthood a preliminary injunction on Monday, allowing Missouri's only abortion clinic to remain open for now. canonical: https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-11T00:12:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T12:42:37.748Z article:section: Health og:title: Judge Rules Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Must Remain Open for Now og:description: The temporary decision was hailed as a victory by abortion rights advocates og:url: https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb467614aa1b742c9/69894ae4e76ad29730634c1e/missouri-planned-parenthood.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Missouri Planned Parenthood og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Judge Rules Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Must Remain Open for Now twitter:description: The temporary decision was hailed as a victory by abortion rights advocates twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb467614aa1b742c9/69894ae4e76ad29730634c1e/missouri-planned-parenthood.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Judge Rules That Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Must Remain Open for Now ## Video: Missouri Senate Passed a Bill to Ban Abortions at 8 Weeks [Watch (HLS stream): Missouri Senate Passed a Bill to Ban Abortions at 8 Weeks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2rzacg2v.m3u8) (0:24)  _Published 2019-05-16. Missouri’s Republican-led Senate passed a bill to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy._ by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/) and [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/) Jun 11, 2019 12:12 AM CUT  Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is seen in St. Louis, on May 31, 2019. Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is seen in St. Louis, on May 31, 2019.SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/) and [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/) Jun 11, 2019 12:12 AM CUT A judge granted Planned Parenthood of St. Louis a preliminary injunction on Monday, allowing Missouri’s only abortion clinic to remain open for the time being. The ruling, hailed as a victory by abortion rights advocates, is not the final word on the dispute over Planned Parenthood’s license in the state. Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer ordered the state Department of Health and Senior Services to decide by June 21 whether to renew Planned Parenthood’s license. “This is a clear victory for people across Missouri — but the threat is far from over,” [Dr. Leana Wen](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567751/leana-wen/ "undefined"), president of Planned Parenthood, said in a tweet shortly after the decision. “Planned Parenthood will do whatever it takes to combat politicians’ efforts to ban access to safe, legal abortion care and we’ll never stop fighting for our patients.” > [](https://twitter.com/DrLeanaWen/status/1138214332544819201) The controversy began last month, when [Planned Parenthood officials announced](https://time.com/5597072/last-missouri-abortion-clinic/ "undefined") that Missouri’s health department was not expected to renew the license its St. Louis clinic needed to provide abortion services before it expired on May 31—a lapse that would leave Missouri without a legal abortion provider. The same day, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Missouri, arguing that the license renewal process had been unlawfully caught up in a state investigation into an alleged patient complaint against the health center. Missouri officials have not publicly disclosed details about the alleged complaint. On May 31, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Michael Stelzer [granted Planned Parenthood](https://time.com/5597728/planned-parenthood-missouri-hearing/ "undefined") a temporary restraining order that allowed it to keep providing abortion care without a license renewal, at least until hearings concluded. Then, on June 4, Stelzer [handed Planned Parenthood another win](https://time.com/5601195/missouri-planned-parenthood-ruling/ "undefined") by settling a major piece of the license renewal standoff: the issue of whether Planned Parenthood doctors, including non-employee medical residents and fellows, would have to be interviewed by state investigators. The state called its interview request routine, while Planned Parenthood argued that questioning non-staff medical trainees was inappropriate and unreasonable. Stelzer eventually sided with Planned Parenthood. While Stelzer did so again on Monday, the question of whether Missouri will become the first U.S. state in nearly 50 years to lack an abortion provider remains unanswered. Missouri, one of several states that has passed more restrictive abortion laws this year, recently [banned abortions after the eighth week of pregnancy](http://time.com/5595583/missouri-abortion-ban-law/ "undefined"). And it is one of six states with only one abortion provider, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for abortion rights. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/"},"headline":"Judge Rules That Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Must Remain Open for Now","datePublished":"2019-06-11T00:12:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:42:37.748Z","description":"The temporary decision was hailed as a victory by abortion rights advocates","url":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/","keywords":["Missouri","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb467614aa1b742c9/69894ae4e76ad29730634c1e/missouri-planned-parenthood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb467614aa1b742c9/69894ae4e76ad29730634c1e/missouri-planned-parenthood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Missouri Planned Parenthood","caption":"Missouri Planned Parenthood","creditText":"SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/missouri/","name":"Missouri"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/","name":"Judge Rules That Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Must Remain Open for Now"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Missouri Senate Passed a Bill to Ban Abortions at 8 Weeks","description":"Missouri’s Republican-led Senate passed a bill to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2rzacg2v/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-05-16T09:57:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2rzacg2v.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/","duration":"PT24S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5602157/planned-parenthood-hearing-decision-missouri/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```