By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's ruling that overturned a Missouri law banning late-term abortions.
The state Legislature passed a law banning what critics call partial birth abortions in 1999, but Monday the Eighth U.S. Court of Appeals struck it down.
Paula Gianino, president of the Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, says the court made the right decision.
"We're relieved, we're grateful, we're frankly not surprised. We argued when this law was introduced that it was unconstitutional, we stated why and we even worked to make it constitutional, Gianino said.
Gianino says exceptions must be made if the health or life of a woman is at risk during the later stages of a pregnancy.
A spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon says their office is reviewing whether to appeal the decision.