Planned Parenthood is looking for ways to continue to perform abortions at its Columbia facility. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri President Laura McQuade says the Department of Health will revoke the clinic’s license December 1.

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood considering all legal options to continue abortions at Columbia clinic

“We won’t know until we hit the deadline. So, we are preparing and looking at all legal options open to us,” said McQuade.

In September the University of Missouri, under then-Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, ended the type of privileges Doctor Colleen McNicholas claimed as allowing her to perform abortions there. Now that she no longer has the privileges, the Columbia facility is losing its license.

Under state law, abortion providers are considered ambulatory surgical centers. Doctors at such clinics must have privileges to perform surgery at a nearby hospital or a written agreement with a hospital to take patients for emergency services.

McQuade is not sure if chancellor Hank Foley will support reinstating privileges for McNicholas. McQuade hopes Foley will do what she thinks is fair.

“He has all of the written material. He’s certainly receiving feedback from parts of the faculty, from the Legislature, those that are on our side, like Representative Stacey Newman. He’s hearing from all sides” said McQuade. “But, I’m not really able to say where we think that’s going to go at this point.”

McQuade said MU caved to political pressure from Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) and some members of the interim Senate committee charged with determining if any laws were being broken in Missouri by Planned Parenthood. The committee was formed shortly after the release of several undercover videos of the organization that pro-life supporters say talk about selling fetal tissue for profit.