My most vivid memory of prayerful witnessing at the Reproductive Health Services Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis happened in 1987. I joined a large pro-life group with signs not just decrying abortion but also offering help to women considering abortion.

At that time, I was pushing my 18 month old daughter in a stroller and obeying the instructions to stay on the sidewalk when my daughter suddenly bolted from the stroller and ran across the grass towards the clinic’s door.

I quickly grabbed her and put her back in her stroller, hoping no one from the clinic staff noticed. Even though I am opposed to abortion, I followed the rules.

32 years later, that daughter is firmly pro-life and expecting her second child while that same Planned Parenthood clinic-the last one in Missouri-is getting yet another court-ordered reprieve from closure after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) decided not to renew the facility’s license on May 31, 2019. The department cited dozens of serious health and safety violations.

Public records show numerous problems at the clinic including unreported failed abortions, life threatening complications, an illegal abortion at 21 weeks, insufficient supervision of medical residents (students) performing abortions and inaccurate medical records among the many other violations. According to an ABC News report, the DHSS director said “the decision to deny their health department license was based on the fact that of 30 deficiencies found in the department’s review of the clinic, only four have since been addressed by Planned Parenthood”.

Missouri is one of the most pro-life states in the US and Governor Parsons just signed one of the most protective pro-life laws in the nation but, as usual, abortion is usually more about politics than facts.

Planned Parenthood sued Missouri health officials several weeks ago over the licensing dispute and  a judge kept issuing temporary injunctions to keep the abortion clinic open until the judge sent the case to the Administrative Hearing Committee.  On June 28, 2019, that committee’s commissioner  granted Planned Parenthood’s motion for a stay that will allow abortions to continue at least until he hears the case later this year.

PROTECTING ABORTION, IGNORING SAFETY

In 2016 US Supreme Court case  Whole Women’s Health v Hellerstedt, the court overruled the requirements in Texas that abortionists have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and that abortion clinics have facilities comparable to an ambulatory surgical center. The judges ruled 5-3 that these requirements constituted an undue burden on abortion access and were thus unconstitutional.

Ironically and just two years later , the true life movie “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer”  was released and opened many eyes. The movie is about the notorious Philadelphia abortionist who ran an outrageously filthy but politically protected abortion clinic and who eventually was convicted of murder. Dr. Gosnell executed late-term unborn babies who survived abortion by callously cutting their spinal cords. In addition, some of the women died, suffered serious complications or contracted diseases from dirty instruments during the 30 years he operated his clinic without penalty from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Of course Planned Parenthood is desperate to keep their last abortion clinic in Missouri open but public opinion is apparently turning on abortion “rights” in general, especially after at least 8 states have now stripped away all legal protections for unborn babies and allowing them to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth.

A recent Gallup poll now shows that 60% of Americans want all or most abortions made illegal and  9 state governors have recently signed laws giving even more protections to unborn babies. In addition, a federal appeals court just ruled that the Trump administration can defund Planned Parenthood of almost $60 million dollars in taxpayer funding.

While the well-funded and politically connected Planned Parenthood organization will continue to file lawsuits against even common sense health and safety requirements in states like Missouri, we all must never stop trying to protect both women and their unborn babies!