Planned Parenthood Funding, Missouri

Updated November 27, 2000.

Missouri has long attempted to keep abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving state money for family planning, which could not help but subsidize abortions indirectly.  The federal courts finally approved the General Assembly's efforts in 1999.  In Planned Parenthood v. Dempsey, ____ F.3d ______ (8th Cir. 1999), the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that the state could forbid public family planning money from subsidizing abortions directly and indirectly.  The court further approved a funding law which provided that state family planning money could be granted to a family planning organization which has an affiliate which performs abortions, so long as the abortion-performing affiliate does not share a corporate name, employees, funding sources, and expenses with the family-planning grantee.

In 1999 and 2000, in accordance with the Dempsey decision, the General Assembly made the statutory prohibition more specific by enacting a detailed list of the things which must be kept separate between the family planning grantee and its abortion-performing affiliate.  See H.B. 1110, §10.710 (2000).   The restrictions are being challenged by Planned Parenthood in federal court as a violation of the federal constitution. Planned Parenthood v. Dempsey, case no. 99-4145-CV-C-5 (W.D. Mo., pending).  A state court has already determined that Planned Parenthood is in violation of the 1999 law, and should refund $105,750.00 to the State which the Carnahan awarded Planned Parenthood in violation of the funding restrictions.  State of Missouri v. Planned Parenthood et al., Judgment, case no. CV 199-1010-CC (Cole County Circuit Court, November 16, 1999).

Planned Parenthood has appealed the Circuit Court judgment to the Missouri Supreme Court (case no. 82225).  The Court heard oral arguments in the matter on September 28, 2000, and a decision may come at any time.