The Quickie: PPSLR Fights Back Against AG's Attack on Care for Transgender and Non-Binary Youth

Welcome to “The Quickie'' — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: PPSLR challenges AG attacks on care, MO Gov signs defund bill, and OH providers file a challenge to medication abortion restrictions.

PPSLR FIGHTS BACK AGAINST AG’S ATTACKS ON CARE FOR TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY YOUTH: Today, PPSLR filed a motion opposing the Attorney General’s actions and held a press conference with patient advocates to call attention to this fight. “The Attorney General is finally saying the quiet part out loud: he is coming for the private medical records of trans youth who received life-affirming, life-saving health care at Planned Parenthood,” PPSLR interim president and CEO Richard Muniz said in a statement. “This should sound the alarm for health care providers and patients across our state. Andrew Bailey has made clear his so-called investigation is not about enforcing the laws, but to target and demonize transgender and non-binary patients and the providers who care for them — all in service of his political agenda. This is harassment and bullying — and we will not stand for it.” 

Attorney General Andrew Bailey has continually abused his authority to attack care for transgender and non-binary youth, including by trying to gain access to confidential patient records. Bailey was already denied access under HIPAA privacy rules, but he is now trying to use his office to continue his efforts to pry into records.

Watch a recording of PPSLR’s press conference on Instagram.

MISSOURI GOV SIGNS DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD BILL: Yesterday, Governor Mike Parson signed yet another attempt to “defund” the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates. HB 2634 bars both Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (PPSLR) and Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) from participating in the state Medicaid program, dealing a blow to Missouri’s health care safety net, which is already stretched too thin. This comes despite multiple rulings from Missouri’s highest court that withholding Medicaid reimbursement for care from Planned Parenthood violates the state’s constitution. 

The Missouri Family Health Council reports Planned Parenthood health centers serve about half of Missouri’s low-income patients seeking family planning, and there is no way that other providers can fill in that gap if Planned Parenthood cannot participate in state programs.

In response, Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri released the following statement: 

“Governor Parson’s decision to sign this bill into law is deeply disappointing and harmful to the tens of thousands of Missourians who rely on Planned Parenthood for essential health care. This bill not only defies the ruling of Missouri’s highest court but also flouts federal Medicaid law. By denying Medicaid patients’ right to receive health care from Planned Parenthood, politicians are directly obstructing access to much-needed health services, including birth control, cancer screenings, annual wellness exams, and STI testing and treatment.”

Read more in Missouri Independent and AP.

OHIO PROVIDERS FILE CHALLENGE AGAINST STATE MEDICATION ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the law firm WilmerHale, and Fanon Rucker of the Cochran Law Firm amended their complaint in an existing lawsuit against a ban on telehealth medication abortion services while simultaneously challenging other laws in Ohio that restrict access to this safe abortion option. These laws violate the Ohio Constitution, as amended by voters to include an explicit right to abortion on November 7, 2023.

Dr. Sharon Liner, medical director of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, highlighted the importance of lifting the unconstitutional restrictions in a statement, saying, “We can all agree that health care needs to be more accessible, not less. More than half of the patients we serve travel significant distances to us to receive care. Unnecessary restrictions that ignore the expertise of medical professionals exacerbate the strain on patients and providers. Using telehealth to provide medication abortion allows patients to access care in their local community without having the burden of traveling long distances and/or taking additional time from their jobs and families to access the health care they need and deserve.”

Read more here.