It’s the ‘beginning of the end’ for Planned Parenthood, says Missouri AG

A Missouri Circuit Court Judge has denied Planned Parenthood’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general.

The suit accuses the abortion provider of illegally helping minors circumvent state law to receive abortions.

The judge’s decision came after a June 10 hearing in which Planned Parenthood argued no law was actually broken.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office filed the lawsuit in February with the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit in Boonville, after a damning video surfaced online in December purportedly showing a Planned Parenthood employee telling a man how to “bypass” state laws requiring parental consent by transporting a minor to Kansas for an abortion.

“Planned Parenthood staff admitted they traffic minors across state lines to perform abortions on them without parental consent,” the petition reads. “Worse, they admit doing this ‘every day, every day, every day.’”

While state law prohibits abortions in Missouri, except in cases involving life-threatening complications, it also outlaws anyone from providing assistance to a minor in seeking an abortion, the suit states. 

“Missouri law prohibits elective abortion, but Missouri law also forbids any person to ‘intentionally cause, aid, or assist a minor to obtain an abortion without [parental] consent’ or informed consent, even if the abortion occurs in another ‘state or place.’ § 188.250, RSMo.” 

John Andrew Hirth, attorney for Planned Parenthood, argued the case should be thrown out, claiming the recorded conversation was “hypothetical,” and therefore no law was broken. 

“There is no allegation that any child, any minor has been taken across state lines; there’s no allegation that any parent has complained,” he argued. “There’s no allegation that any abortion has been performed either in Missouri or outside of Missouri, with or without parental consent here. The whole conversation is hypothetical.” 

Kathryn Monroe, a representative for Bailey’s office, countered that argument, saying Planned Parenthood’s employee “admitted conduct about what they would do in this actual situation.” 

By allowing the case to proceed, the court essentially ruled the case holds merit, although Judge Brouck Jacobs did not issue an opinion with the ruling. 

After the hearing, Hannah Sumpter, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said she feels the lawsuit is harmful. 

“Ultimately, these attacks from anti-abortion groups and politicians hurt real patients” she wrote. “Shaming and stigmatizing the safe and effective healthcare providers and services they need.” 

Bailey touted the lawsuit as a major step toward eradicating “Planned Parenthood once and for all, to end this pattern of abhorrent, unethical, and illegal behavior.” 

“This is the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in the State of Missouri,” he said.