Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Missouri is appealing a judge’s ruling that required the clinic to hand over patient files exposing whether puberty blockers and transgender procedures were performed on children. The clinic argues that the civil investigative demand was improperly issued and did not reference Planned Parenthood in the requests. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s civil investigative demand was based on the state’s Merchandising Practices Act, which allows him to obtain patient documents that do not fall under HIPAA protections. Planned Parenthood claims the demand was improperly issued in reliance on the merchandising act, and the appeal was filed in the 22nd Judicial Court in St. Louis.
According to Planned Parenthood, Bailey has “weaponized” the attorney general’s office to carry out a political campaign, and they are asking the court of appeals to put a halt to Bailey’s investigation. The clinic’s interim president and CEO, Richard Muniz, stated that Missourians should not have to fear having their essential care dismantled or their private health information scrutinized by politicians. Bailey has launched multiple investigations into how transgender health clinics offer services to children, and Planned Parenthood has been singled out for dragging out the investigation.
Bailey expressed disappointment that Planned Parenthood refuses to comply with the investigation, which seeks to ensure children were not experimented on without parental consent. The AG stated that protecting children is a personal fight for him as a father of four, and he will not let up in pursuing the investigation. Of the clinics Bailey has taken legal action against, only one has handed over documents. Planned Parenthood in Great Plains has filed an appeal to keep their documents private, and a St. Louis-based clinic has not sent any patient documents to Bailey’s office.
An investigation was launched into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after a whistleblower accused the hospital of lying to parents of patients. Bailey sought all records for all patients treated at the center, including private and protected health information for over 1,000 patients. Last year, Bailey launched a multi-agency investigation into the center and has faced resistance from Planned Parenthood. Missouri also enacted a law banning puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors a few months after the investigation was launched.
Planned Parenthood CEO stated that they will not back down from what they consider to be a sham investigation. Bailey maintained that the fight to protect children is personal for him, and he looks forward to prevailing in court once again. Of the clinics investigated, only one has cooperated with the requests for patient records. The battle between Planned Parenthood and the Missouri Attorney General’s office continues as the clinic appeals the demand to hand over patient files exposing whether puberty blockers and transgender procedures were performed on children. The outcome of the appeals process will determine the next steps in the investigation.
