Attorney General Andrew Bailey is suing Planned Parenthood in Missouri for allegedly trafficking minors out of state for abortions without parental consent. Bailey decided to file the lawsuit in February 2024 after years of Planned Parenthood's "flagrant and intentional refusal to comply with state law," according to a press release. "It is against the law in Missouri to intentionally cause, aid, or assist a minor to obtain an abortion without parental consent in another state. § 188.250, RSMo." Bailey seeks a court order to block the clinic from subjecting children to such treatment. Bailey, whose daughter died in his arms within an hour of her birth, says it is time to stop what Planned Parenthood "conceal[s] and conspire[s] to do in the dark of the night."
The case references parts one and two of an undercover investigation from Project Veritas (PV) showing Planned Parenthood staff admitting they traffic minors "every day" across state lines to Kansas. An undercover PV reporter was sent to a clinic in Kansas City, MO, and posed as an adult who may know the child but is not the parent.
Planned Parenthood seems to be using a loophole that allows "adults other than parents" to transport girls to clinics in the neighboring state of Kansas. There are allegedly two clinics in Kansas that perform abortions on minor children. Planned Parenthood runs one, and the other "is next door." The director offered to call ahead for the undercover reporter because it helps avoid getting "the runaround."
Stunningly, according to the lawsuit, minors are allegedly being removed from schools with a signed doctor's note from Planned Parenthood and no parental consent. Schools purportedly have to comply because of the doctor's note. In some cases, schools may not even know minors are being taken over state lines for the procedure.
According to the staff being filmed, Planned Parenthood chips in for some if not all of the costs, sets up hotels, and arranges the transportation. The lawsuit states that Missouri law prohibits "permitting a child to obtain an abortion without counsel of" a parent, as adjudicated in Planned Parenthood of Cent. Missouri v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 72 (1976).
In many cases, parents are not even aware their child is being taken to Kansas for an abortion. In those situations, another adult is tasked with transporting the minor. The director told the PV reporter that it is advisable to "call ahead" if you are not the parent. In the video, the staff member and the managing director instruct the reporter to tell the Kansas clinics that the minor's parents are unaware of the need to help with a "bypass."
As stated by the Planned Parenthood staff in the video, "If you're trying to do it without the parents knowing, then you need to call because they need to do a bypass. They will bypass without the parents knowing, but just make sure you tell them" so you can do it "without the parents knowing." There is allegedly a "service" that will pick the child up and transport the child to avoid exploitation of the child. The video also presumably shows Planned Parenthood staff confirming no documentation is needed to prove someone is a "related adult."
Project Veritas also reported that the Kansas clinic "frequently sees out-of-state patients" from "mostly Texas and Oklahoma patients." However, Planned Parenthood clinics in Illinois, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., are also seeing out-of-state minors, according to PV reporting. In some cases, according to Project Veritas, Planned Parenthood is coaching minors to "rubber stamp abortions for minors."
According to a Managing Director for Planned Parenthood in Texas, "They would give the girls a script that she would need to read to a judge...They knew every judge, and they had a relationship with the judge that would rubber stamp the consent for this minor to get an abortion."
Planned Parenthood Clinic Shut Down in Missouri for Mold in Equipment
Bailey's multi-year investigation of Planned Parenthood has revealed health-code violations when, in 2018, a Planned Parenthood facility in Columbia "was shut down after staff admitted to having used moldy abortion equipment on women for months." The health department shut the clinic down.
In addition, Planned Parenthood also admitted in 2018 in court that it failed to properly file reports documenting "medical complications from abortions." In 2020, the state also found Planned Parenthood was not notifying women of the risks of abortion even though Missouri law requires it.
The lawsuit states that Planned Parenthood clinics are all "affiliated, one big clinic pretty much," allowing funds to be shared everywhere, making it easier for minors to receive services and abortions.
