Missouri attorney general sues Planned Parenthood for deceiving women about dangers of abortion drug

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) announced Wednesday that he has filed a lawsuit against the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for deceiving women about the dangers of the abortion drug mifepristone.

The lawsuit cites Planned Parenthood's website, which said that the abortion pill is “safer than many other medicines like penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra.”

“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,” Bailey said in a statement.

“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.”

Bailey's office also noted that new research suggests that serious adverse events from the abortion pill are at even higher rates, "closer to more than 10 percent."

The lawsuit reads, “Comparing the labeled use of one drug with the misuse of another in a safety claim is disingenuous.” The attorney general's office also said that it is "illegal" under state law.

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

The lawsuit asks for more than $1.8 million in civil penalties for daily violations of Missouri law; up to $1,000 in damages or restitution for every Missouri woman that Planned Parenthood has provided abortion pills to in the past five years; reimbursement to the state for Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded emergency care resulting from abortion pill complications; and a court order stopping Planned Parenthood Federation of America from continuing to promote the falsehoods regarding the pill in Missouri.