Missouri Planned Parenthood In Columbia Resumes Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 18, 2010   |   2:50PM   |   Columbua, MO

After 13 weeks of temporarily halting abortions at its Columbia center, the Planned Parenthood abortion business in Missouri is resuming abortions.

Missouri Right to Life indicates “the Columbia Planned Parenthood abortion clinic will resume aborting babies next Monday, November 22.”

The pro-life group is planning an event featuring peaceful prayer at the abortion center at 711 Providence Road all day today.

“Those who are scheduled for an abortion on Monday will be coming to the clinic on Thursday for their preliminary appointment,” the organization explained.

“You are also asked to participate in a prayerful witness on Monday, November 22 from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. when the abortions are scheduled,” MRL officials added.

When the Planned Parenthood stopping doing abortions, that left two abortion centers operating in Missouri — the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis and the Women’s Care Gynecology abortion clinic in Birdgeton, a suburb near the St. Louis airport.
Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, told the Columbia Missourian newspaper in September that abortions stopped due to “scheduling issues.”

That likely means the abortion business is having problems finding an out-of-state abortion practitioner to come there on a regular business to do abortions, but the abortion business operator wouldn’t elaborate.

“We don’t talk about our doctors and providers publicly, for security reasons,” he said, “because they’re subject to harassment and difficulties.”

Brownlie told the newspaper the abortions were temporarily halted two weeks ago and, while he doesn’t expect the stoppage to be “lengthy,” he doesn’t know when abortions will resume.

Missouri Right to Life President Pam Fichter applauded the stoppage, even if for a limited time.

“Any time an abortion clinic is not performing abortions, that’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “It’s still wonderful news that the Planned Parenthood in Columbia has temporarily halted its abortion practice. Many lives will be saved as a result.”

MRL legal counsel James Cole said the Women’s Care abortion center Allen Palmer runs has been the subject of considerable controversy.

“Palmer has aggressively sued peaceful demonstrators who have carried signs in a parking lot near the building where he does abortions,” he said.

Cole also chided the Missourian newspaper for wrongly reporting the closure meant the state had just one functioning abortion business.

“Why his abortion business is always ignored by the major news outlets mystifies me. Apparently he does not seek the limelight, but even so, reporters appear to be professionally incompetent when they ignore him,” he said.