Kansas Grand Jury Clears Planned Parenthood
New York, NY – Yesterday a Johnson County, Kansas, grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (PPKM) of any wrongdoing after a three-month investigation. The grand jury was convened as part of a larger national strategy, orchestrated by anti-choice groups such as Operation Rescue, to restrict access to reproductive health care and intimidate patients and providers.
“For more than 90 years Planned Parenthood has stood up for women’s health by providing affordable health care to communities across the nation, and steadfastly safeguarding patients’ confidentiality and right to privacy,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “While anti-choice hardliners across the country are intent on pursuing a political agenda to restrict access to reproductive health care, we take great comfort in the fact that the justice system remains fair.”
Planned Parenthood learned last fall that anti-choice groups had begun circulating a petition to seat a grand jury in an effort to restrict access to abortion in Kansas. According to state law, only a few thousand signatures are required to seat a grand jury investigation.
“On behalf of our patients, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri is pleased that this investigation has ended and that we can continue delivering high-quality reproductive health care for the women of Kansas,” said Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of PPKM. “We hope that the grand jury’s fair-minded evaluation of the evidence will put an end to the politically motivated attacks on reproductive health care in Kansas.”
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Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate more than 860 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. We also work with allies worldwide to ensure that all women and men have the right and the means to meet their sexual and reproductive health care needs.
Contacts
Diane Quest, 202-973-4851
Leanne Mayer, 913-312-5100, x 260
Published: 03.04.08
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