UPDATES
3 Dec 2015
Missouri Judge Allows Unqualified Planned Parenthood to Keep its Abortion License for Now
Legislature fights back by filing a bill to protect women from shoddy providers
When Missouri University cancelled Colleen McNicholas’ deficient “refer and follow” privileges, it created a crisis at the Planned Parenthood office in Columbia, Missouri.
Not only did they no longer have an abortionist that could legally continue abortions there, but it also meant that they were no longer qualified for licensure as an abortion facility.
Knowing they could not comply with the legal requirements of licensure, Planned Parenthood sued and obtained a temporary injunction blocking the State from revoking its facility license.
In a teleconference hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey, extended the injunction to December 30, 2015, in order to give Planned Parenthood more time to find a new abortionist with local hospital privileges to replace McNicholas.
Laughrey is a 1995 nominee of pro-abortion President Bill Clinton.
“The main purpose of the judiciary is to interpret the laws, not circumvent them,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “Since Planned Parenthood cannot meet the legal requirements, the clinic should not be allowed to maintain its abortion facility license. It’s just that simple.”
Right now, Planned Parenthood cannot legally do abortions because it has no abortionist that can qualify for local hospital privileges, a compliance issue for Planned Parenthood that has kept abortions out of Columbia on and off for years.
Meanwhile, the Missouri Legislature has filed its first bill pushing back against the unaccountability of Planned Parenthood in the wake of videos released by the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood involvement in the sale of aborted baby body parts which sparked an Interim legislative committee investigation into practices in Missouri.
The new bill, put forth by Sen. Bob Onder, would require abortion businesses to submit all of the human remains from abortions done in Missouri to a pathology lab that would then certify that all the remains were legally disposed. It also tightens reporting requirements and mandates that the Department of Health and Senior Services issue an annual report to the General Assembly noting the type of procedure and gestational age and other information for every abortion reported to the agency.
The bill would also clarify the precise nature of hospital privileges required by abortionists…
To read entire article, visit link below:
[December 3, 2015, http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/missouri-judge-allows-unqualified-planned-parenthood-to-keep-its-abortion-license-for-now/ ]
1 December 2015
Missouri Judge Stops State From Revoking Planned Parenthood Abortion Site’s License
A federal judge stopped Missouri from revoking the license of one of the last two abortion facilities in the state on Monday.
The Columbia abortion clinic was set to lose its license to do abortions Monday after its abortion doctor, Colleen McNicholas, had her “refer and follow” hospital admitting privileges revoked by the University of Missouri Health Care, according to the Columbia Tribune. Missouri state law requires that abortion clinics employ doctors with hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the facility.
U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey issued a temporary injunction that will allow the abortion clinic to stay open in response to a lawsuit that Planned Parenthood filed earlier Monday against the state Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Associated Press.
Laughrey’s temporary injunction will expire Wednesday evening after another hearing on the case, the AP reports.
The Kansas City Star reports more on the case:
The lawsuit, filed by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid Missouri, argues that there is no requirement under state law that the clinic’s license be immediately revoked due to loss of a physician with hospital privileges. In the past, the lawsuit says, the state has allowed the Columbia clinic to maintain its license to perform abortions while it searched for a new physician.
From June 2012 to Sept. 2013, the lawsuit states, the clinic was without a physician and unable to perform abortions but was able to keep its state license.
“It will take significant time for [Planned Parenthood] to find a new physician to provide abortions at the Columbia Center, and even longer if that physician needs to apply for and obtain local hospital privileges,” the lawsuit says. “(The Department of Health and Senior Services’) revocation of (Planned Parenthood’s) license does not give (Planned Parenthood) sufficient time to maintain its license and therefore violates (Planned Parenthood’s) right to procedural due process.”
Through its spokesman, the Department of Health and Senior services said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Without the Columbia location, Missouri would have one abortion clinic in the whole state, a Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis, LifeNews reported last week.
The University of Michigan voted to stop offering admitting privileges to McNicholas in September, in response to a state investigation prompted by undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress, which showed Planned Parenthood abortionists harvesting and selling aborted babies’ body parts. The investigation revealed a relationship between Planned Parenthood and the university.
However, LifeNews recently reported that the University of Missouri is working with McNicholas to re-apply for hospital admitting privileges so that she can do abortions again.
Teresa Snow, a spokeswoman for the university, predicted earlier this month that the abortion clinic would lose its license to perform medical abortions while McNicholas re-applies for hospital admitting privileges, a process that takes months. The university health care program is compiling documents for the abortion doctor’s application process, according to the Associated Press.
In a related incident, a pro-life Missouri state Senator received death threats related to his investigation of Planned Parenthood and its connection to the University of Missouri, LifeNews recently reported.
[1 Dec 2015, Bilger, http://www.lifenews.com/2015/12/01/missouri-judge-stops-state-from-revoking-planned-parenthood-abortion-clinics-license/ ]
Original Article:
The publicly funded Missouri University has finally made the decision to end its limited hospital privilege agreement with Planned Parenthood abortionist Colleen McNicholas that enabled her to conduct abortions at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia.
But in order to avoid concerns over non-discrimination laws, (which may or may not be applicable), rather that directly terminate McNicholas’ privileges, MU has decided to end the “refer and follow” class of privileges that were granted to McNicholas and one other unrelated physician, effective December 1, 2015.
“I’m not sure why MU has to wait over two months to halt this bogus non-privilege arrangement, but we are just glad they are finally putting an end to this charade,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
“Now its up to the Department of Health to revoke the Columbia Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic license since it will no longer meet legal qualifications.”
[25 Sept 2015, Columbia, MO, http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/mizzou-ends-planned-parenthood-abortionists-privileges-as-of-december-1/ ]