188.215. Use of public facilities prohibited, when. - Missouri Statutes

Use of public facilities prohibited, when.

188.215. It shall be unlawful for any public facility to beused for the purpose of performing or assisting an abortion notnecessary to save the life of the mother or for the purpose ofencouraging or counseling a woman to have an abortion notnecessary to save her life.

(L. 1986 H.B. 1596 § 4)

(1987) United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri Central Division, on March 17, 1987, held that section 188.215 was unconstitutional and the state was permanently enjoined from enforcing this provision. Reproductive Health Services v. William L. Webster, 655 F.Supp. 1300 (W.D.Mo. 1987).

(1988) United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment that this section is unconstitutional. Reproductive Health Services v. William L. Webster (Nos. 87-1641 and 87-2157, July 13, 1988).

(1989) United States Supreme Court reversed the holding of the lower courts and held that prohibition of use of public funds to perform or to assist in performing nontherapeutic abortions was not a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 109 S.Ct. 3040.