Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, alleging the abortion provider has been misleading women about the dangers of chemical abortions.
According to the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood has engaged in false advertising, such as stating the drug mifepristone is “safer than many other medicines like penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra,” although studies show that the drug is linked to adverse events. Bailey’s lawsuit specifically seeks an order blocking Planned Parenthood from making false statements, reimbursement to the state for taxpayer-funded care resulting from adverse effects of the abortion pill, and more than $1.8 million in civil penalties for violating Missouri law.
“Through these lies, Planned Parenthood has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars—all while women have been forced to seek emergency care because of the heightened risks of abortion pills compared to surgical abortions,” the filing states.
“The national Planned Parenthood organization is actively endangering the lives of women and girls across the country by spreading lies and disinformation about the powerful chemical abortion drug,” said Bailey. “The facts are clear: more than 4.5 percent of women who take this dangerous drug end up in the emergency room, yet Planned Parenthood compares it to Tylenol. This is a blatant violation of Missouri law, and I will not allow a death factory to lie to Missouri women in pursuit of its radical agenda.”
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary confirmed earlier this year that he will review the safety of the abortion drug mifepristone after a study revealed troubling adverse health outcomes far above the risks reported on its label.
The study, released by the Ethics and Public Policy Center, found that 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone to induce abortions experience severe complications, a number at least 22 times as high as reported on the drug’s label.
