Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block enforcement of a new Missouri law that will subject some facilities to increased regulation by designating them as "ambulatory surgical centers," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The suit alleges that the new regulations — which would apply to clinics performing second- or third-trimester abortions or more than five first-trimester abortions each month — interfere with access to abortion.
"This is yet another attempt by Planned Parenthood to evade common-sense regulations that take into consideration the significant health issues associated with abortion," said Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "If Planned Parenthood was truly interested in the health and well-being of the women they allegedly want to 'help,' they would gladly comply with this type of regulation."
The law, scheduled to take effect Aug. 28, would give public school districts the option of teaching an abstinence-only sex education course. School districts previously were required to include information about contraception in sex-education classes. In addition, the law prohibits people affiliated with abortion providers from teaching or supplying sex-education materials to public schools.
