ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Great Plains in Columbia, Missouri.
It accused the organization of trafficking minors out-of-state to get abortions without parental consent.
This lawsuit claimed Planned Parenthood's Great Plains location is taking minors to Kansas, where abortion services are legal.
Bailey sought a court order to block the clinic.
In a news release Thursday morning, it detailed the lawsuit as the culmination of a multi-year campaign to drive Planned Parenthood from Missouri.
“This is the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in the state of Missouri. What they conceal and conspire to do in the dark of night has now been uncovered. I am filing suit to ensure it never happens again,” Bailey said. “As a father who held my daughter in my arms for a single hour of her life before she died, I know firsthand how important it is to protect life. Our children are the future. It is time to eradicate Planned Parenthood once and for all to end this pattern of abhorrent, unethical and illegal behavior.”
The lawsuit outlined an undercover reporter from Project Veritas took a video while interacting with Planned Parenthood employees.
The video used a man who pretended to have a pregnant, 13-year-old niece, who needed to get to Kansas for an abortion.
"The surreptitiously recorded video revealed that Planned Parenthood removes minors from school using altered doctor's notes, transports them into Kansas for abortions and then quickly returns them - all to avoid parents finding out," the lawsuit claimed.
Project Veritas is considered a conservative media organization known for undercover videos with a history of lawsuits.
5 On Your Side's political analyst Anita Manion said the group was accused of misconduct before.
"The issues that keep coming up with their videos is that they edit them, they aren't showing you the full footage. They edit them in a way that presents information maybe not in an accurate light. I think for Bailey to have success in this lawsuit, he is certainly going to need evidence beyond the Project Veritas video," Manion said.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, provided the following statement:
“This is a press release dressed up as legal action from an unelected attorney general. It is based on ‘evidence’ from fraudulent, extreme anti-abortion actors, who claim to be ‘journalists.’ At this point, we’re relying on the attorney general’s social media posts to review any purported lawsuit, as we have not yet been served and the document does not yet appear to have been filed. We will continue following state and federal laws and proudly providing Missourians with the compassionate sexual and reproductive care that remains available to them in a state with a total abortion ban.”
Planned Parenthood shared these additional points:
- In Kansas, minor patients seeking abortion services are required by state law to have parental consent or complete a judicial bypass process, in which a Kansas judge issues an order authorizing the minor to receive care.
- This Project Veritas video referenced was filmed without the staff’s knowledge or consent. It is heavily doctored and edited, as is often the case with these extreme anti-abortion actors.
- PPGP DOES NOT provide any form of transportation directly to patients, regardless of age or location.
Saint Louis University law professor Anders Walker weighed in and said moving minors across state lines is trafficking without parental consent.
"Parents can consent though and we have a right to travel, so if a parent says yes to cross state for an abortion, that is protected by the constitution," Anders said. "It sounds sensational, we have to see if Bailey has any evidence that this is happening."
Manion also pointed out the timing.
"It's an election year and Bailey is running for office. We’ve seen him in his time in office filing lawsuit after lawsuit ... while they may have merit and value, they are certainly also political banners," she said.
This also comes on the heels of the Missouri House giving initial approval on Wednesday for legislation that would stop public funding for facilities providing abortions, which includes Planned Parenthood.
"The timing is interesting. There is a lot gong with Missouri's effort in the legislature to make the initiative petition process more challenging and between efforts from organizations trying to get the ballot initiative around abortion ... then hen what we’ve seen with the IVF ruling. Reproductive rights and the issues around it are at the forefront specifically in an election year," Manion said.