Missouri Attorney General files lawsuit against Planned Parenthood

In a July 23 press release, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), accusing it of violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The lawsuit alleges that PPFA has systemically misled women concerning the risks of the abortion pill.

Key Takeaways:

• Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America alleging that PPFA is in violation of Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act for systemically misleading women about the dangers of the abortion pill.

• Mifepristone’s 2023 label contains a black box warning and states that 2.9-4.6% of women who take abortion drugs end up in the ER.

• The FDA’s medication guide notes as many as seven percent (7%) of women will need surgery after ‘to stop bleeding’ or complete the abortion.

• Planned Parenthood publicly claims the abortion pill is safer than penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra.

• A more recent analysis states that the rate of serious complications is close to 11%, which is 22% higher than the FDA claims. Recent research from Ireland showed that 12% of women report to the ER for infection or bleeding after taking the abortion pill.

The Details:

The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, alleges that PPFA has misled women about the dangers of the abortion pill so it could cut costs and increase revenue despite the known risks to women’s health and safety.

“The national Planned Parenthood organization is actively endangering the lives of women and girls across the country by spreading lies and disinformation about the powerful chemical abortion drug,” said AG Bailey. “The facts are clear: more than 4.5 percent of women who take this dangerous drug end up in the emergency room, yet Planned Parenthood compares it to Tylenol. This is a blatant violation of Missouri law, and I will not allow a death factory to lie to Missouri women in pursuit of its radical agenda.”

The lawsuit states, “Comparing the labeled use of one drug with the misuse of another in a safety claim is disingenuous” and illegal under Missouri law. Complications include hemorrhage, infection, and sepsis.

As previously reported by Live Action News, “Mifepristone’s 2023 label contains a black box warning and states that 2.9-4.6% of women who take abortion drugs end up in the ER (indicating potentially tens of thousands of abortion pill-related visits annually), and the FDA’s medication guide notes as many as seven percent (7%) of women will need surgery after ‘to stop bleeding’ or complete the abortion.”

However, a more recent analysis based on a large insurance database stated that the rate of serious complications is nearly 11% — 22 times higher than the FDA claims.

1st Trimester Abortion | The Abortion Pill | What Is Abortion?

The press release from Bailey’s office also states that PPFA’s website directs Missouri women to book appointments at Planned Parenthood affiliates to access the drugs and even encourages those women to lie about having taken the abortion pill when they seek emergency medical help for complications.

The lawsuit is seeking $1.8 million in civil penalties for daily violations of Missouri law — up to $1,000 in damages for every Missouri woman who took the abortion pill from Planned Parenthood over the last five years; reimbursement of state Medicaid funds and other taxpayer-funded emergency care that resulted from abortion pill complications; and a court order stopping PPFA from promoting the so-called safety of the abortion pill.

“The lies must stop. We’re holding the national Planned Parenthood entity accountable for the lies it tells women in Missouri and across the nation,” concluded Bailey. “No  one is above the law, not even Planned Parenthood.” 

Bailey spoke at the Coalition Life Gala on July 22, where he announced the lawsuit and his plan to expose the dangers of pro-abortion constitutional amendments being proposed in multiple states.

Why It Matters:

Planned Parenthood has repeatedly claimed that the abortion pill is safe, comparing it to Tylenol, Viagra, and even penicillin. The claim is also on its website.

An analysis, “The Abortion Pill Harms Women,” published by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), found that nearly 11% of women (10.93%) experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or other serious or life-threatening adverse events following use of the abortion pill drug mifepristone. The EPPC stated that this means one in ten women experience at least one serious complication within 45 days of taking mifepristone — 22 times higher than the “less than 0.5 percent” serious adverse events rate reported by the FDA on the mifepristone label, according to this analysis.

Recent research from Ireland also showed that 12% of women report to the ER for infection or bleeding after taking the abortion pill. The data, published in the Irish Journal of Sociology reviewed “cases of in-patient abortion pill use up to 12 weeks of gestation… from a single tertiary hospital in Ireland from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022.” Twelve percent of the 149 women “who each underwent a pre-abortion consultation with an OB/GYN prior to taking the abortion pill… presented to an emergency department for concerns with infection or bleeding,” as previously reported by Live Action News.

Commentary:

Live Action founder and president Lila Rose responded to the news in a press release, stating:

Planned Parenthood is not just lying to women, it is actively endangering their lives for profit. This lawsuit confirms what we have long known. Planned Parenthood pushes dangerous abortion drugs with full knowledge that women are being harmed. They tell women that the abortion pill is safer than Tylenol, even though it sends thousands to the emergency room and has left countless women bleeding, traumatized, and alone.

The greatest tragedy of the abortion pill is not even the risk to women, it is that every single pill is designed to kill a living, growing child in the womb. This is violence, not medicine….

I commend Attorney General Bailey for taking bold action to hold this corrupt and deadly corporation accountable….

The Bottom Line:

The abortion industry, including Planned Parenthood, markets the abortion pill as safer than Tylenol, Viagra, or penicillin.

However, for over a decade, the abortion industry has instructed women to visit the ER if they experience adverse effects of the abortion pill and to lie to ER doctors and claim they are suffering natural miscarriages.

This unethical practice has skewed the data on the safety of the abortion pill, making it appear less dangerous for women than it is.

Editor’s Note, 7/23/25: This post has been updated to add commentary.

Follow Live Action News on Facebook and Instagram for more pro-life news.