Washington (AFP) - The only abortion clinic in the midwestern US state of Missouri will be allowed to remain open until at least August 1.
A Missouri state commission on Friday granted a hearing to Planned Parenthood, which operates the clinic, of its denial of a license by the state health department.
The hearing before the state's Administrative Hearing Commission will be held on August 1, the commission said in a statement.
A Missouri court is also currently examining the move to deny a license to the clinic.
Missouri's Republican Governor Mike Parson has accused Planned Parenthood of "actively and knowingly violating state law on numerous occasions" and refused to renew their clinic's license.
Missouri lawmakers passed a bill last month banning abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, including in cases of rape and incest, but that measure will not take effect until later this year.
Missouri is one of more than a dozen US states that have passed laws restricting abortion as part of a concerted strategy to try to challenge the 1973 Supreme Court ruling allowing the procedure nationwide.
The states restricting abortion access have generally sought to roll back when the procedure is permitted, to as early as when a heartbeat is first detected -- around six weeks of gestation, when many women do not yet know they are pregnant.
Most of the measures are expected to face legal challenges and eventually end up before the Supreme Court.
The top US court is now dominated by a conservative majority, including two justices appointed by President Donald Trump.
Its landmark Roe v Wade decision allows for conditions to be placed on abortion only after the first trimester of pregnancy.
The high court allows states to place some limits on abortion so long as they do not result in an "undue burden" for women.
