After a three-month hiatus, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, Mo., has begun offering abortion services again, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports. The clinic stopped performing surgical abortions and administering medical abortions because no physician was available, Peter Brownlie, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said. The clinic continued to offer contraception, wellness exams and other services. Women seeking abortion care at the Columbia clinic had to travel to St. Louis or Kansas City.

This was the second time this year that the Columbia clinic stopped offering surgical abortions for similar reasons. "We're very hopeful there won't be an interruption again," Brownlie said. He added, "We rely on physicians who have the time and availability to work with us. We're not in a position -- and there isn't money in our budget -- to have a full-time person on staff."

Since August, the clinic also has faced new state restrictions that require women to meet with a "qualified professional" 24 hours before an abortion. During the consultation, a professional nurse or licensed counselor must give the woman information about state assistance and the father's child support obligations if she carries the pregnancy to term. Women also receive literature about the risks of abortion and the physiological characteristics of a fetus at the current gestational age. They are offered an ultrasound and an opportunity to hear the fetal heartbeat.

Brownlie said that the new requirements put an increased burden for women, especially those who come from remote areas, by forcing them to make two trips to the clinic (Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune, 11/20).

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