NEW YORK (AP) — Planned Parenthood and its allies filed lawsuits Wednesday in North Carolina, Missouri and Alaska challenging laws that they view as unconstitutional restrictions on abortion.
The restrictions being challenged in Missouri are similar to those that the Supreme Court recently struck down in Texas. They require abortion clinics to meet standards for surgical centers and mandate that their doctors have admitting privileges in nearby hospitals.
Targets of the other lawsuits:
—Restrictions in Alaska that ban abortion in outpatient health centers after the first trimester of pregnancy. Abortion-rights lawyers said this forces many women to travel out of state for second-trimester procedures.
—A North Carolina law that prevents doctors from performing abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy with a narrow exception for immediate medical emergencies.
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