Missouri Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Planned Parenthood Affiliates

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 4-3 that two Planned Parenthood affiliates are not required to repay $918,000 in state family planning grants that violated a state prohibition on funding for affiliates of abortion providers, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Lieb, AP/Kansas City Star, 8/8). The state Supreme Court in April heard arguments in an appeal of a lower court ruling that required the Planned Parenthood affiliates to repay the grants. In the case, Missouri resident Daniel Shipley said that $668,850 in family planning grants for fiscal years 2000 and 2003 given to Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region violated a state law that prohibits any state money from going to groups that provide abortion services. The law also bans state funding for any organization with shared resources or a name similar to that of an abortion provider. Ray County, Mo., Circuit Judge Werner Moentmann in May 2005 ruled that the Missouri affiliate must repay the state $376,800 plus 9% annual interest and that the St. Louis affiliate must repay $292,050 plus 9% annual interest. Moentmann said the groups were restricted from receiving the money because they shared office space, expenses, employee wages, equipment and supplies and have similar names to organizations that provide abortion procedures. In 2004, the state Legislature voted to stop all funding of family planning grants (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/14).

Ruling Details
The state Supreme Court reversed Moentmann's ruling, saying that the requests for the injunction and declaration were moot because the state had not continued to fund family planning programs. Chief Justice Michael Wolff, writing for the majority, said the Missouri and St. Louis affiliates' grants could not be canceled because the health department director had authority to enter into them under the budget laws. In addition, evidence did not show that Planned Parenthood had acted inappropriately but rather that the organization actually took many steps to adhere to the contract's stipulations, Wolff wrote. "In these circumstances, the government cannot accept the benefits of the contracts and retain those benefits, while also recovering the consideration paid," according to Wolff's opinion. The dissenting judges said that the contracts should have been voided and that the state should be reimbursed because the Missouri and St. Louis affiliate received them in violation of the budget laws. Judge Stephen Limbaugh in his dissenting opinion, wrote, "In short, the (health department) director had no authority to enter into the contracts with Planned Parenthood ... because the defendants were too intertwined with their abortion providers, and, consequently, they were not eligible for funding under the appropriations statute."

Reaction
Paula Gianinio, president and CEO of PPSLR, said, "We're obviously just thrilled, grateful, relieved with today's decision ... and really feel very vindicated with the court saying there was no indication of any kind of fraud by Planned Parenthood. ... We did what was asked of us." Gov. Matt Blunt (R) said the decision "undermines the Legislature's ability to spend tax dollars in accord with the values of Missourians." Shipley said that he was disappointed that the Missouri and St. Louis affiliates did not have to reimburse the state and that the Supreme Court did not say whether Planned Parenthood affiliates are eligible for family planning funds. He added, "So basically, if the department of health chooses to do what they want, and the state attorney general does not proceed to recover the moneys that were inappropriately distributed, then the citizens of the state have no avenue to seek compensation or reimbursement" (AP/Kansas City Star, 8/8).

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