US abortion rights groups fight new Missouri law in court

Opponents of anewlawinMissourirestricting mostabortions after eight weeks of pregnancy will ask a federal judge on Monday to stop thelawfrom taking effect this week.

AbortionrightsgroupsPlanned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federallawsuit in July and want a judge to put thelawon hold until their legal challenge is heard incourt.

Thenewlaw, signed by Republican Governor Mike Parson in May and set to take effect on Wednesday, allows for anabortionafter the eighth week only in the case of medical emergencies and does not exempt victims of rape or incest.

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Thelawis one of the most restrictive in the United States and activists say it effectively forbids mostabortions since many women do not know they are pregnant yet at eight weeks.

The 31-page complaint filed in theUS DistrictCourtfor the Western District ofMissouricontends that the legislation is unconstitutional.

"Without this relief, the bans will have a devastating effect on patients seeking access toabortionin the state,"lawyers wrote in the complaint.
In a perennially divisive moral and politicalfight, similarlaws have been proposed in more than a dozen otherUS states as Republican-controlled legislatures flex their muscles.

Efforts to roll back Roe v. Wade, theUS SupremeCourtdecision legalizingabortionin 1973, have been emboldened by two appointments by President Donald Trump giving conservatives a solid majority on thecourt.

Parson said in May thenewlawwould makeMissouri"one of the strongest pro-life states in the country."

The plaintiffs in theMissouricomplaint said thelawconflicts with more than four decades of binding precedent, would prohibit "the vast majority of pre-viabilityabortions", and denied patients healthcare they were entitled to.

Currently, the statelawallowsabortions up until 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Attorneys for the governor's office, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood were not available for comment early on Monday.