‘I’m not sure who cried more.’ Missouri abortion rules face criticism from Congress
The chief medical officer of Missouri’s only abortion clinic described for members of Congress Thursday the trauma patients experienced when the state sought to require all women seeking abortions to undergo a pelvic exam.
“I’m not sure who cried more: the physicians, the staff, the patients,” Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis clinic, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
More than 100 women were required to undergo the invasive procedure. McNicholas said the state’s decision to back off of the policy in June, after public outcry, was evidence that it had no medical purpose.
Democratic lawmakers used Missouri as a case study in what they described as the perils of recent expansion in state-level restrictions on abortion.
The hearing was requested by Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, after it was revealed that the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services tracked the menstrual cycles of Planned Parenthood’s patients during its investigation into the clinic.
Lacy Clay blasted the practice as bizarre and invasive.
“No woman should be subjected to this violation of their personhood,” said Lacy Clay, the only lawmaker from Missouri on the committee. “This is America. It’s her body. It’s her health care.”
Democratic lawmakers and witnesses repeatedly called out Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson during the hearing. In May, Parson signed a bill that criminalizes abortions after 8 weeks of pregnancy. The law does not make exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
“Politicians like Governor Parson are hellbent on finishing off what little remains of reproductive health care in my state,” testified Jeni Box, a Missouri woman who made the painful decision to terminate a pregnancy in 2018 after doctors determined that her child would be born with a fatal, genetic disorder.
“I never fathomed my governor would weaponize the health department in an attempt to end safe, legal abortion in Missouri. I did not anticipate my state legislature enacting an 8-week abortion ban — a ban that would have made it impossible for me to make the best decision for our family,” Box said.
Parson’s administration has mostly ignored the outrage on Capitol Hill. The governor’s office declined to comment when the hearing was announced and did not respond to inquiries Thursday.
Dr. Randall Williams, the state health director, issued a short statement on Thursday that did not specifically address the criticisms made against him and his agency during the hearing.
“DHSS is statutorily required to regulate 4,000+ facilities, and we will continue to act in good faith to ensure each of them are following our state’s laws and providing safe care for all individuals who use their services,” Williams said in a statement.
Missouri could become the only state in the nation without an abortion provider after state officials yanked the St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic’s license earlier this year. A state judge has ordered the clinic’s license to remain in force until the case is resolved.
Williams has faced calls for his resignation after a licensing hearing revealed the state health department created a spreadsheet that tracked the periods of some Planned Parenthood patients to find problematic cases.
The spreadsheet, named “Director’s Request,” was attached to an email with the title “Duplicate ITOPs with last normal menses date.” The department later claimed that Williams did not request or possess the spreadsheet. A state administrative hearing commissioner will decide next year whether the state was correct in pulling the clinic’s license.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, took exception when McNicholas suggested Williams had violated his Hippocratic oath, which requires physicians to do no harm, in the course of regulating of Planned Parenthood.
Foxx suggested that abortion would be a violation of the oath and asked McNicholas whether she had taken the same oath. McNicholas said she lives by the oath every day.
The Republican minority witness was a conservative podcaster from Texas, Allie Beth Stuckey.
“You don’t have to be an abortion provider to know what an abortion is. That’s exactly why I’m here: To talk about the absolute brutality of killing life inside the womb,” said Stuckey, who hosts the podcast “Relatable.”
Box told Stuckey her rhetoric was offensive and she asked her to show more respect to women who make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy.
The number of abortions in Missouri is at all-time low. More Missourians received abortions in Kansas last year than Kansans.
Shortly after Parson signed the abortion bill into law, Planned Parenthood sued in federal court. A U.S. District Court judge placed a preliminary injunction on parts of the measure, which has been appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Crystal Thomas reported from Kansas City.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 6:13 PM with the headline "‘I’m not sure who cried more.’ Missouri abortion rules face criticism from Congress."
