“Our doors are open.” That’s how Planned Parenthood announced on Twitter that abortions would continue in its St. Louis, Missouri location, despite not receiving an abortion license from the state last week. Based on the statement, it seems as if abortion care is the only thing it offers and without it all their other services would cease. That shouldn’t be the case, but abortion is the only thing that Planned Parenthood seems to care about anymore. It fights fiercely to protect it, regardless of the women it puts at risk.

The conflict between the state of Missouri and Planned Parenthood has been brewing for years, and in some ways started at another clinic in Columbia, Missouri. That office had to stop providing abortions last year because its only acting abortionist could not get admitting privileges at the local hospital. The clinic also failed a surprise health inspection. 

The fight then moved from Columbia to St. Louis, the location of the state’s last remaining abortion clinic. Planned Parenthood’s application to renew its abortion license in St. Louis was initially denied because it could not make all of its abortionists available to state inspectors for interviews, which were deemed necessary following reports of lax medical practices going on at that location. State officials wanted to investigate, but the abortion business could only provide its own physicians and not those that worked at local area hospitals. The outside medical professionals, unsurprisingly, refused to comply with the state’s requests likely out of fear of what could potentially be uncovered.

The abortion business promised that it could comply with all other state requirements, but then reversed course when it came to the state’s requirement that women have a preliminary pelvic exam about 72 hours before an abortion. As part of state requirements, the preliminary exam is the time where the physician is required to “discuss, or counsel, patients on the complications of abortion and read state-mandated literature.” Planned Parenthood rejects this mandate and has stated that it will not comply, but not for any medical reason.

For abortion activists, the preliminary pelvic exam should be removed because it is “dehumanizing.” That reasoning is absurd for a business that claims to practice medicine.

Despite what many abortion activists want the general public to believe, abortion is a risky procedure. There can be complications like hemorrhaging, an incomplete abortion, uterine perforation, cervix laceration or infection, which are all potentially fatal without medical intervention. Due to these potential problems, a preliminary pelvic exam could be incredibly useful in determining if there are any additional or unusual health concerns that should be addressed in the days before the procedure. But Planned Parenthood doesn’t care about the possible medical benefits of this evaluation for its clients, let alone the lives of the preborn babies that it will be taking.

Although the state is standing strong, it is also acquiescing to some of Planned Parenthood’s demands. Late on Friday, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services Director, Dr. Randall Williams, said that he sympathized with Planned Parenthood’s argument that the preliminary evaluation is a “burden for patients” and it would not require the state’s last abortion clinic to perform the so-called “invasive vaginal exam.” The abortion business still doesn’t have a license, but the state is allowing it to perform abortions regardless of its own regulations and without a proper medical reason.

The preliminary injunction that Planned Parenthood fought for has been extended by a judge, but only through Friday. As the state continues to fight against abortion, it is possible that by the end of this week the last abortion clinic in the state will close. This is the third time that headline has circulated, but, maybe, third time’s the charm.