Earlier this year, a state circuit court in Missouri granted a motion to force a Planned Parenthood chapter to turn over documents regarding gender interventions performed on minors. After the abortion giant didn't release the records, a circuit judge issued a second decision last week confirming that Planned Parenthood must turn over documents under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey talked about this on Washington Watch earlier this week.
"We know that other clinics in the state of Missouri have a very poor history of informing parents about the dangers and the negative consequences associated with these treatments," he explained.
"[We're talking about] prescription of life-altering powerful puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, when there is zero FDA approvals for use of those medications; and the treatment of gender dysphoria or denial of certain patients' access to mental health assessments and traditional forms of mental health treatments like psychology or psychiatry."
Last fall, the Missouri AG filed a lawsuit against St. Louis-based Southampton Healthcare alleging that it provided puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors without a mental health assessment.
Bailey anticipates "negative findings" will emerge from his investigation into Planned Parenthood.
"Certainly, the behavior of Planned Parenthood in the abortion context is to consistently place their desire to terminate and end human life ahead of the health and welfare of patients – and we believe that that is going to be true in … the transgender context as well," says the Missouri AG. "But we're going to keep digging and root out this enterprise and hold any wrongdoers accountable."
In an interview with Fox News early this week, Bailey vowed to "get to the bottom of how this clandestine network" of Planned Parenthood clinics has subjected minors to the treatments – often without the consent of parents.
