Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey responded after Planned Parenthood Great Plains filed a countersuit, alleging a constitutional right to transport minors across state lines for abortions without parental consent, under Amendment 3.
"Our children deserve to be protected—not trafficked across state lines for dangerous and clandestine abortion procedures at the hands of an organization that has repeatedly demonstrated its utter contempt for the law, parental rights, and safety of the women and children of Missouri," Bailey stated. He stressed the importance of parental knowledge regarding medical procedures performed on their children, vowing to protect these rights against what he described as Planned Parenthood's "assault."
Bailey criticized the countersuit as an effort to "twist the law into a shield" for what he called the organization's "reckless and immoral behavior." He claimed the lawsuit was anticipated by opponents of Amendment 3, who warned it might be legally exploited, compromising women's safety and parental rights.
According to the Attorney General's office, Planned Parenthood representatives have been recorded admitting to fabricating doctors' notes to extract minors from schools clandestinely and transport them for abortions, bypassing parental consent. Missouri law prohibits assisting a minor in obtaining an abortion out-of-state without parental consent.
Missouri law, cited by Bailey, explicitly makes it illegal to facilitate a minor's abortion in another state without parental consent, referring to statute § 188.250, RSMo. He argued that Planned Parenthood's actions represent a clear breach of this law, compromising parental rights and legal protections for minors.