Judge blocks Missouri abortion ban after ballot measure's passage

A state circuit court judge blocked some parts of Missouri’s near-total abortion ban after an abortion ballot measure’s passage in November. But the ruling preserved other restrictions, including that abortion facilities have to be licensed by the state. 

In his Friday preliminary injunction, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang wrote that the state’s abortion ban is “directly at odds” with Amendment 3, which voters approved last month, and the statute is “therefore presumptively...