A ruling earlier this month that allowed abortions to resume in Missouri should be set aside because the laws and rules it blocks are important safeguards for women’s health, Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office said in a filing last week to the Missouri Supreme Court.

The document asks the high court to suspend Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang’s preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of almost all of the state’s laws regulating abortion services. If the court does not grant the stay immediately, the filing states, the high court should hold an expedited hearing on Aug. 11.

In response, attorneys for the ACLU of Missouri and Planned Parenthood asked for arguments the week of Aug. 18.

The battle over abortion rights has been a state question since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision. The decision triggered a law that banned all abortions in the state except in cases of medical emergency that endangered a woman’s life.

Abortion became legal again in Missouri under the provisions 52% of voters approved as state constitutional Amendment 3 in November. But because the amendment did not directly repeal state laws banning or regulating abortion, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, based in Kansas City, and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, based in St. Louis, sued to block enforcement of those laws.