ST. LOUIS _ Missouri has rejected the license application of the only abortion provider in the state _ a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis.
The decision by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services was announced just prior to a hearing Friday in St. Louis City Circuit Court. It has no immediate impact, because a preliminary injunction keeping the clinic open remains in place.
"While Gov. (Mike) Parson and his political cronies are on the wrong side of history, nothing changes right now for patients who need access to abortion at Planned Parenthood," Dr. Colleen McNicholas, a physician with the clinic, said in a statement. "We will continue providing abortion care for as long as the court protects our ability to do so."
DHSS is expected to address the dispute in a news conference Friday.
During a brief court hearing that began at 10 a.m., Planned Parenthood attorney Jamie Boyer told Judge Michael Stelzer that the clinic received the letter announcing license denial about 9:30 a.m.
DHSS had allowed the clinic's license to lapse May 31 without acting on the renewal application. Planned Parenthood preemptively sued the week before the license expired and court orders have allowed its clinic to continue to provide abortions.
Up until Friday, DHSS withheld its decision on the application, saying it needed to first interview seven physicians who practiced at the clinic about specific cases flagged in a review of medical records during the clinic's March annual inspection.
Two doctors, who are employed by Planned Parenthood, complied, while the remaining five, all of whom are contracted through teaching hospitals and medical schools, declined interviews. Since they are not employees of the clinic, Planned Parenthood has argued it cannot compel them to comply.
Stelzer ordered DHSS to formally approve or reject the application by Friday. A request to reconsider _ which Stelzer denied _ included the clinic's inspection records, which showed that DHSS was investigating four failed abortions.
Planned Parenthood submitted a fourth plan of correction to DHSS Tuesday, in response to a state filing with the court that listed included the 30 deficiencies at the clinic. In the plan, it announced it would defy a health department mandate to perform pelvic exams at least 72 hours prior to an abortion procedure, saying doing so was medically unnecessary and "inhumane."
During the hearing, Stelzer remarked that he would make an additional order to determine the case's next step. What will happen next is unclear.
"The state in its denial letter today stated that it didn't want any more conversations so it really is in the court's hands," M'Evie Mead, Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri spokeswoman, told reporters on the courthouse steps.
DHSS has asked to dismiss the case. In a previous order, Stelzer agreed with DHSS that the appropriate venue for the Planned Parenthood to challenge the state on licensing matters was in front an Administrative Hearing Commission, which serves as a tribunal that resolves disputes between state agencies and individuals or businesses.
The formal denial by DHSS will allow the clinic to appeal the decision to the AHC.
The four commissioners _ three of whom were appointed by former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon _ hear cases individually and their decisions can be subject to judicial review.
The newest commissioner, Philip Prewitt, was appointed by Parson, a Republican, earlier in the month. In a bid for the state house, he received support from Missouri Right to Life, and as a Macon County associate circuit judge, he was reprimanded by the Missouri Supreme Court for urging support of a teen pregnancy resource center, according to The Associated Press.
Cases are assigned to commissioners on a rotating basis. Prewitt has said he would consider recusing himself if the Planned Parenthood case were to come before him.
Mead did not answer a question when asked if Planned Parenthood could get an apolitical decision from the commission.
