Missouri Sues Planned Parenthood Over Abortion Pill Claims

The state of Missouri announced on Wednesday that it is suing Planned Parenthood for systematically misleading women about the dangers of chemical abortions to cut costs and drive up revenue at the risk of women’s health and safety. The alleged actions violate the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

“The national Planned Parenthood organization is actively endangering the lives of women and girls across the country by spreading lies and disinformation about the powerful chemical abortion drug,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey said. “The facts are clear — more than 4.5 percent of women who take this dangerous drug end up in the emergency room, yet Planned Parenthood compares it to Tylenol. This is a blatant violation of Missouri law, and I will not allow a death factory to lie to Missouri women in pursuit of its radical agenda.”

Planned Parenthood’s advertising has a national reach, including targeted claims against Missouri women, the lawsuit said. The organization uses its website to make dangerous claims, such as calling the chemical abortion drug “safer than many other medicines like penicillin, Tylenol and Viagra,” despite FDA labeling and peer-reviewed studies showing serious adverse events in more than 4.5 percent of cases, with new research suggesting even higher rates of closer to more than 10 percent.

“Planned Parenthood provides less than 1% of annual pap tests and breast exams, but performs 42% of annual abortions in the U.S.,” says Kathy Fork with 40 Days of Life in Missouri. She went on to say the organization claims that American women rely on them for healthcare, “but a recent New York Times exposé found they’re spending more resources lobbying in Washington DC than they are helping women.”

The organization’s website directs Missouri women to book appointments at local Planned Parenthood affiliates, where they are encouraged to obtain the powerful chemical abortion drug. Planned Parenthood encourages women to conceal their abortion drug use from their own emergency medical providers, significantly increasing the risk of complications.

Bailey’s lawsuit seeks:

• More than $1.8 million in civil penalties for daily violations of Missouri law;

• Up to $1,000 in damages or restitution for every Missouri woman Planned Parenthood provided abortion pills to in the past five years;
• Reimbursement to the state for Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded emergency care resulting from abortion pill complications; and
• A court order halting Planned Parenthood from continuing to promote these falsehoods in Missouri.

“The lies must stop,” Bailey said. “We’re holding the national Planned Parenthood entity accountable for the lies it tells women in Missouri and across the nation. No one is above the law, not even Planned Parenthood.”

Fork believes every dollar taken from Planned Parenthood must be redirected to health centers that provide a wider range of services and a higher standard of care than Planned Parenthood.

–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice