JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has issued a cease and desist order against Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, prohibiting them from performing chemical abortions without an approved complication plan.
Bailey cited the need to protect women's health and ensure compliance with state law.
The order follows allegations that Planned Parenthood failed to file required complication reports and continued to operate without an approved plan, which is mandatory under Missouri law.
Bailey pointed to testimony from Planned Parenthood officials who admitted under oath to disregarding these regulations.
“Planned Parenthood has a documented history of subverting state law, including failure to file complication reports,” Bailey said in a provided statement. “This cease and desist letter ensures that basic health and safety standards are met.”
Missouri law mandates that facilities performing chemical abortions must have a complication plan in place to address potential medical emergencies.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, approximately 4.5% of women who undergo chemical abortions experience complications requiring emergency medical care.
Bailey noted that without the approved plan, Missouri women's safety would remain at risk.
In response, Planned Parenthood has denied the allegations and accused Bailey of political interference.
Margot Riphagen, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, criticized the move, calling it “harassment” and asserting that the organization has already submitted a complication plan to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) for approval.
“As of this moment, DHSS has not acknowledged receipt of our complication plan, much less approved it,” Riphagen said to KSMU. “This is an urgent matter, and once again we see Missouri politicians doing all they can to get between patients and the care they need.”
Bailey justified the cease and desist order by citing state law, which grants the attorney general authority to prohibit any entity from engaging in unlawful conduct.
He also referenced prior incidents of noncompliance at Planned Parenthood facilities, including the use of contaminated medical equipment and failure to report complications.
Planned Parenthood’s representatives contend that they are operating within legal bounds and are being unfairly targeted.
Nick Dunne, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, reiterated that the organization has not resumed medication abortions due to the lack of state approval for their complication plan.
The legal battle follows a recent decision by a Jackson County judge that blocked certain licensing requirements for clinics, effectively reopening the door for legal abortion services in the state.
While Planned Parenthood has resumed procedural abortions at facilities in Kansas City and Columbia, chemical abortions remain paused pending the approval of the complication plan.
Bailey’s office maintains that the cease and desist order is necessary to enforce state laws and prevent further violations. Planned Parenthood has two business days to respond before the order takes effect.
"You are hereby ordered under penalty of law not to perform any chemical abortions in Missouri," he wrote in the letter.
Bailey wrote in the letter that on March 10, the organization submitted a response to the notice sent to them last week about the possibility of this order.
"You responded that there is 'no reason to believe' Planned Parenthood will violate the law because, in your view 'Comp Health will continue to follow the law, as it always has.' That is demonstrably false. In fact, physicians at Planned Parenthood organizations in Missouri have recently conceded—under oath—to violating the law and have been found by investigators and tribunals to have violated Missouri’s laws many times in recent years," Bailey wrote.