Missouri senate moves to hold Planned Parenthood president in contempt

Committee on sanctity of life subpoenas consent forms and dangles
right to ‘punish’ state’s only abortion provider, which says the move
violates privacy law

Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy
Tuesday 5 April 2016 13.47 BST

Senators in Missouri are moving to hold the president of a St Louis-area Planned Parenthood affiliate in contempt of court – under threat of jail time – for refusing to submit private medical documents.

The move comes after the state general assembly’s committee on the sanctity of life subpoenaed documents from Mary Kogut, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, in an investigation into her organization.

The subpoena, issued in November, called for Kogut to turn over any and all consent forms signed by patients in the process of receiving abortion care at the St Louis affiliate. It also seeks documents that make reference to Dr Mary Gatter and Dr Deborah Nucatola, two Planned Parenthood staff members who are prominently featured in widely debunked “sting” videos by the activist group the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The videos alleged that Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers throughout the US were engaging in the illegal sale of fetal tissue.

A lawyer responded on behalf of Planned Parenthood that the committee did not have the authority to subpoena these documents, and that handing them over would violate federal privacy law.

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