A new Planned Parenthood abortion facility is opening near the border of Kansas and Arkansas, situated near Northwest Arkansas, Southwest Missouri, and Northeast Oklahoma.
According to a Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains press release, the abortion chain is taking advantage of Kansas’ laws allowing abortion through 21 weeks of pregnancy by opening a facility in Pittsburg. Located in southeast Kansas, Pittsburg is within driving distance of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas — all of which have laws protecting preborn children from abortion.
“As we expand our footprint into Southeast Kansas, we are deeply committed to our mission of providing inclusive and equitable access to essential sexual and reproductive health care,” Emily Wales, president and CEO, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in the press release. “The opening of our new health center in Pittsburg underscores our dedication to empowering communities and ensuring that individuals have the resources to make informed decisions about their health and future. At a time when access to critical reproductive health care is under threat, we are proud to expand our network to serve the needs of patients in this community and beyond.”
Tax documents obtained by the Arkansas Family Council revealed that the facility will likely be located at a 3,180 square foot medical office building at 2310 Tucker Terrace in Pittsburg, Kansas. Planned Parenthood appears to be trying to hide this, using separate LLCs to purchase the property. It’s a tactic they have used before in the past to keep people from knowing a Planned Parenthood is coming to town, as American Life League explained:
The first highly publicized case of Planned Parenthood sneaking into a community using a false identity to purchase, build/renovate a property, and get needed permits, took place in Aurora Illinois in 2007. Since then, Planned Parenthood has used this technique many times to thwart any efforts by Planned Parenthood’s opponents to stop it from opening. It has become standard operating procedure for the nation’s largest abortion chain.
In 2019, the Arkansas Human Life Protection Act was passed, with a provision for the law to be activated when Roe v. Wade was overturned. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe; Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified the Supreme Court decision that same day, making the law official. Committing or attempting to commit an abortion is now a felony in Arkansas, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services had filed lawsuits challenging the law, but they were ultimately dropped.
Pro-abortion coalition Arkansans for Limited Government gathered signatures in an attempt to put an initiative to state citizens on the November ballot, which, as Live Action News previously reported:
… would permit abortion up to 20 weeks gestation (18 weeks post-fertilization), allowing preborn children to be killed for any reason. Those older than 20 weeks gestation could be killed for being conceived in rape or incest, or to protect a woman’s physical health, including “a life-endangering physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself and… any situation in which continuation of a pregnancy will create a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function of a pregnant female….”
… The amendment also explicitly redefines the government’s “compelling interest” to exclude anything related to the protection of the preborn child. This could affect measures like waiting periods, ultrasounds, or informed consent measures.
However, the fate of the initiative remains uncertain, as the group is currently suing Secretary of State Jon Thurston for rejecting the petition on the basis of partially invalid signatures.
