A group of abortion activists are trying to push the University of Missouri to reconnect with Planned Parenthood after the school terminated its contracts with the abortion giant earlier this year.
The student group Mizzou for Planned Parenthood delivered a petition to university Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin on Tuesday calling on the school to renew its contracts with the abortion giant, according to the Columbia Missourian.
In August, the university canceled ten contracts with Planned Parenthood, including teaching medical students how to kill unborn babies in abortions, LifeNews.com previously reported. The move came after the state began investigating the tie between the university and Planned Parenthood in light of a series of 11 videos exposing how the abortion company sells aborted babies and their body parts.
The university also canceled its “refer and follow agreement” with abortion doctor Colleen McNicholas.
The Columbia Missourian reports more on the situation:
Jordan Hoyt, a member of Mizzou for Planned Parenthood, said she, a legislator, another student and a faculty member met with Loftin Tuesday afternoon to discuss the university’s decision to cancel contracts with the health care provider and revoke refer-and-follow privileges for Colleen McNicholas, the only doctor qualified to perform medical abortions at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic.
Hoyt said she carried 2,506 individual petitions, signed by MU students, faculty, staff and community members, in boxes to Jesse Hall. The petitions asked that Loftin reverse those decisions, reinstate contracts between the MU medical and nursing schools and Planned Parenthood and call for a halt to the ongoing legislative investigation into Planned Parenthood.
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The Senate Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life, led by senator and attorney general hopeful Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, began investigating MU’s relationship with Planned Parenthood in July. The committee has held several hearings investigating the health provider’s operations in Missouri.
The Missouri Planned Parenthood affiliate also issued a statement calling for the university to renew its contracts.
“The clock is ticking for Chancellor Loftin to restore physician privileges by December 1, a critical step ensuring that the full range of high quality reproductive health care services, including abortion, remain legal, available and accessible in Mid-Missouri,” said Laura McQuade, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, in the statement.
Pro-life advocates, meanwhile, praised the university for ending its relationship with the abortion business.
Sen. Schaefer, who led the state investigation of Planned Parenthood, said, “Many unborn lives will hopefully be saved as a result.” He added, “Through the course of our investigation, startling facts came to light, our committee dug deeper, and the public made their voices heard. This joyous outcome is proof positive that these committee investigations matter and the result will have eternal significance.”
The Missouri Catholic Conference reported that more than 1,000 people had contacted the university to urge them to stop working with the abortion business. The conference said it was the biggest response they had received on an issue in a long time, according to St. Louis Review.
