Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Missouri Abortion Clinic Trial: State Health Director Tracked Patients' Menstrual Cycles In Attempt To Identify 'Failed Abortions'
The Associated Press: Missouri Agency Tracked Planned Parenthood Patients' Periods
Missouri's health department director on Tuesday said he tracked the menstrual cycles of Planned Parenthood patients as part of an effort to identify what the agency says were "failed abortions" at a St. Louis clinic. Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams made the revelation during the second day of an administrative hearing to determine whether Missouri's only abortion clinic will lose its license to perform the procedure. (10/29)
Kansas City Star: Missouri Health Director Kept Spreadsheet Of Planned Parenthood Patients’ Periods
The spreadsheet, which was based on medical records the investigator had access to during the state’s annual inspection, also included medical identification numbers, dates of medical procedures and the gestational ages of fetuses. The last column of the spreadsheet included the date of the last menstrual period of each patient calculated by the health department. The patient’s names were not included. The investigation eventually found four patients that had to return to Planned Parenthood more than once to have a successful surgical abortion. The failed abortions led the department to have “grave concerns” that caused it to withhold the St. Louis clinic’s license. (Thomas, 10/29)
CNN: Missouri Health Director Reportedly Maintained Spreadsheet Of Planned Parenthood Patients' Periods
Williams' testimony was part of an ongoing hearing in which the St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic is fighting to continue performing abortions after the state refused to renew its license, which was supposed to expire on May 31. Testimony is expected to continue this week. (Alsup, 10/29)
KCUR: In Hearing On Abortion Clinic, State Lawyers Claim Planned Parenthood Put Patients At Risk
On the first day of an administrative hearing that could determine the fate of Missouri’s sole abortion clinic, attorneys for the state questioned the safety of Planned Parenthood’s clinic and said state regulators acted with patients in mind when they did not renew its license. The lawyers spent hours attempting to prove through witness testimony the state’s Department of Health and Human Services acted legally when it did not issue a renewed license to Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services in St. Louis last June. (Fentem, 10/29)
Meanwhile, in Ohio —
The Associated Press: Abortion Clinic Seeks Court Order, New License To Stay Open
The Dayton area’s last abortion clinic is trying to avoid closure by pursuing a new state license and intervention by a federal court after the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday again refused to hear its appeal. The state court’s decision meant Women’s Med Center faced losing its license as an ambulatory surgical facility because it didn’t meet certain Ohio requirements about hospital transfers and agreements with doctors who could help facilitate hospital care in an emergency. (Franko, 10/29)
