Pay up - court orders Missouri to foot Planned Parenthood's $156,000 legal bill

JEFFERSON CITY • Just days before Missouri lawmakers resume a special session on abortion-related issues, a federal appeals court has ruled the state must pay more than $156,000 in legal fees stemming from a lawsuit involving Planned Parenthood.

The decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirms an August ruling that centered on a state law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

Colleen McNicholas, the abortion doctor at Planned Parenthood’s Columbia clinic, lost her privileges when the University of Missouri Health Care System’s medical staff voted to discontinue them in light of the legislative investigation into her practices.

That left Planned Parenthood's clinic in St. Louis as the only place performing abortions in Missouri.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/pay-up---court-orders-missouri-to-foot-planned/article_6ba9b478-46c3-5670-b64c-1730e1c78570.html