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Lawsuits challenge abortion restrictions in 3 states

Nov 30, 2016 | 11:30 AM

NEW YORK — 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 centres 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 centres after the first trimester of pregnancy. Abortion-rights lawyers said this forces many women to travel out of state for second-trimester procedures.