- Bailey accused Planned Parenthood Great Plains of paying minors for abortions, as well as for housing and transportation
- He cited an undercover video from the conservative group Project Veritas that purportedly showed PPGP describing how a 13-year-old was able to have an abortion
- Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood, said the lawsuit was “based on 'evidence' from fraudulent, extreme anti-abortion groups.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, accusing it of “smuggling minors out of the state to perform abortions without parental consent.”
Bailey accused Planned Parenthood Great Plains of funding abortions for minors and providing housing and transportation.
He cited an undercover video from the conservative group Project Veritas that he said showed employees of the organization describing how a 13-year-old girl was able to have an abortion without her parents' knowledge.
A spokesman for Planned Parenthood Great Plains said it does not provide direct transportation for patients.
“This lawsuit is the culmination of a multi-year campaign to force Planned Parenthood out of the state of Missouri for its blatant and willful refusal to comply with state law,” Bailey said.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, accusing it of “smuggling minors out of the country to perform abortions without parental consent.”
Bailey accused Planned Parenthood Great Plains of funding abortions for minors and providing housing and transportation
“It is time to root out Planned Parenthood once and for all to end this pattern of abhorrent, unethical and illegal behavior.”
Abortions have been banned in Missouri except for medical emergencies since June 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade had picked up.
Bailey's lawsuit revisits several historic health and safety violations at a PPGP clinic in Columbia in 2018, including staff's admission of “using moldy abortion equipment on women for months.”
The undercover video is also being used as evidence that the organization is “trafficking” minors for abortions.
“Planned Parenthood violates the ‘deeply rooted’ parental rights and Missouri law and entices minors to make life-changing – and life-ending – decisions without parental consent,” the lawsuit says.
The documents allege that PPGP represented to schools that minors should be excused without disclosing that an abortion was involved.
Bailey is seeking an injunction ordering PPGP to stop assisting minors with abortions.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains called the attorney general's actions “a press release disguised as legal action by an unelected attorney general” in a statement to the Kansas City Star.
Abortions have been banned in Missouri except for medical emergencies since June 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade had picked up
Bailey cited an undercover video from the conservative group Project Veritas in which he allegedly showed PPGP and described how a 13-year-old was able to have an abortion
Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement that the lawsuit was “based on 'evidence' of fraudulent, extreme anti-abortion groups” and that the organization “will continue to follow state and federal laws.”
“Planned Parenthood may try to put us back in the spotlight, but they have been caught violating the law,” a Project Veritas spokesperson said in an email.
The organization frequently posts videos purporting to show wrongdoing by left-leaning groups, but has been accused of using deceptive tactics.