For now, Missouri's last abortion clinic can stay open

A Missouri judge granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the state's last abortion clinic -- temporarily preventing the state from becoming the first in the country with no access to legal abortion.

Judge Michael Stelzer's ruling Monday allows the lone clinic -- Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region -- to keep performing abortions while a legal battle unfolds between the clinic and state health officials.

Last month, the clinic sued Gov. Michael Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services over the state's refusal to renew its license.

That license was supposed to expire on May 31. But the judge issued a temporary order preventing the license from expiring until he heard arguments from both sides.

The court ruled that DHSS shall issue a decision on Planned Parenthood's application for renewal of its license no later than June 21, the court order says.

A status review will also be held on that date.

By Holly Yan, CNN via The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

The Gayly. 6/10/2019 @5:53 p.m. CST.