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KBIA’s Health & Wealth Desk covers the economy and health of rural and underserved communities in Missouri and beyond. The team produces a weekly radio segment, as well as in-depth features and regular blog posts. The reporting desk is funded by a grant from the University of Missouri, and the Missouri Foundation for Health.Contact the Health & Wealth desk.

Missouri Denies St. Louis Planned Parenthood Clinic Abortion License

Trevor Hook
/
KBIA

The director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services defended the department’s decision not to renew St. Louis Planned Parenthood’s abortion license earlier today. This decision came amid claims by Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri that the state is trying to "weaponize" the licensing process.

Director Randall Williams cited three cases in which patients went to the clinic for an abortion and had an adverse reaction. One of the cases cited by Williams involved a patient who he described as suffering severe hemorrhaging at a local hospital, before being referred to Planned Parenthood for a surgery. An official at the Department of Health and Senior Services said this is against guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Williams argued that the clinic would have been unprepared if the patient’s hemorrhaging had returned.

Williams said there were 30 deficiencies cited by the department, and Planned Parenthood only addressed four of them. He also said three doctors involved with the cases refused to cooperate with the agency – which Williams called “unprecedented.”

Williams compared his role as a regulator to that of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“I hope you understand that if a plane crashes, the FAA doesn’t say, ‘Well, you had ten thousand other flights last year that went well. Sometimes these things happen.’ No, they don’t do that” he said. “They go in very rigorously and examine exactly what happened to that crash.”

Williams said there was no influence from the governor’s office or any other state agencies in the department’s decision.

 “We feel we have a duty to prevent future harm, to prevent future accidents or bad outcomes from happening again. To make sure that there isn’t something systematically going on that that is the case.”

A judge’s preliminary injunction is still in place, so the clinic can continue to provide abortions.

According to the Associated Press, it is unclear when St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer will issue a written order outlining the next steps for the clinic. Stelzer previously gave the department until today to decide whether to renew or deny the clinic its license.

Trevor Hook is a reporter, producer and morning anchor for KBIA 91.3 born and raised in New Franklin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri with both a Master's degree in Audio Journalism in 2020 and a Bachelor's degree in Convergence Journalism in 2018.
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