On Tuesday, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that he was headed to court against Planned Parenthood over allegations that the abortion provider took minors across state lines to receive abortion services. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, abortion became illegal in the Show Me State, yet Planned Parenthood persists, offering healthcare services and, according to Bailey, trips across state lines to receive abortions.
Bailey’s lawsuit, originally filed in late February, alleges that Planned Parenthood ran afoul of Missouri law, which states that no one may “intentionally cause, aid, or assist a minor to obtain an abortion without [parental] consent” or informed consent. Bailey announced the beginning of court proceedings on social media.
“We filed suit against Planned Parenthood for trafficking minors out of state to obtain abortions without parental consent,” Bailey announced. “This lawsuit is the culmination of a multi-year campaign to drive Planned Parenthood out of Missouri because of its flagrant and intentional refusal to comply with state law.”
Planned Parenthood allies were incensed by the announcement, asserting that Bailey is pursuing a “frivolous” lawsuit and hopes that the lawsuit will be thrown out.
“Claiming that Planned Parenthood, who is a service provider who makes sure that our folks in the state of Missouri are healthy, are a part of a human trafficking ring or whatever he is saying at this point, is just ridiculous,” said House Minority Leader and gubernatorial candidate Crystal Quade when the suit was announced. “This is just another lawsuit just to try to get some headlines in an election year.”
But Bailey explained his reasoning in going after Planned Parenthood in subsequent posts.
“Planned Parenthood’s most recent unlawful behavior was captured on video, when Planned Parenthood staff admitted they traffic minors across state lines to perform abortions without parental consent,” Bailey posted. “They admit to doing this “every day, every day, every day.”
“The investigation revealed that Planned Parenthood removes minors from school using altered doctors’ notes, transports them into Kansas for abortions, and then quickly returns them — all to avoid the legal requirement to obtain parental consent,” Bailey added. “I filed suit to ensure it never happens again.”
Bailey announced his ultimate goal: “It is time to eradicate Planned Parenthood once and for all to end this pattern of abhorrent, unethical, and illegal behavior.”
Planned Parenthood claims that the video Bailey refers to is “heavily doctored and edited.” The video was taken by Project Veritas in November of 2023.
The lawsuit points out that it’s not the first time Planned Parenthood Great Plains has had trouble with Missouri law.
“Planned Parenthood Great Plains has a long and troubling history of failing to comply with the law,” the lawsuit declares. “Perhaps most famously, in 2018, following at least a half-decade of health-code violations, Planned Parenthood’s facility in Columbia was shut down after staff admitted to having used moldy abortion equipment on women for months.”
“Also in 2018, Planned Parenthood physicians conceded in open court that, for at least 15 years, the organization failed to comply with state law requiring physicians performing abortions to file reports when women experience medical complications from abortions,” the suit claimed.
Bailey has also earned the ire of the Left for targeting the smear merchants at Media Matters for America over allegations that they manipulate algorithms on X, which allowed corporate ads to appear on content from pro-Hitler and Holocaust-denial accounts. Several large advertisers pulled advertising from X over the allegations.
Bailey was appointed by Governor Mike Parson in 2022 to fill the vacancy after former Attorney General Eric Schmidt won election to the U.S. Senate. He is running to be elected as Missouri attorney general this year.
