Attorney General Hanaway Secures Major Court Victory Upholding Missouri’s Parental Consent Laws

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced a major court victory after the Jackson County Circuit Court dismissed in full a lawsuit brought by an organization called “Right By You,” which sought to strike down Missouri’s longstanding parental consent laws protecting minors from secret abortion procedures.

“This ruling reaffirms Missouri’s authority to enforce its parental consent laws and protect the rights of parents against being excluded from medical decisions regarding their children,” said Attorney General Hanaway. “The Court’s decision upholds both the rule of law and the state’s compelling interest in safeguarding the welfare of minors.”

The case, Right By You v. State of Missouri, 2516-CV13783 (Jackson Cnty. Cir. Ct.), challenged Missouri’s parental consent laws on the grounds that the laws were allegedly invalidated by the 2024 adoption of Amendment 3, which added a right to abortion to the Missouri Constitution. The Court’s dismissal of Right By You’s challenge allows Missouri’s parental consent requirements remain in full effect despite the adoption of Amendment 3.

This is an incredible victory for Missouri minors who rely on parental consent laws for their safety. In 2023, the Attorney General’s Office obtained evidence suggesting that Planned Parenthood employees have fabricated doctors’ notes to remove minors from school, transported minors across state lines for abortions without parental knowledge, and returned them home as if nothing had happened, in direct violation of Missouri law (§ 188.250, RSMo). That statute makes it illegal to intentionally cause, aid, or assist a minor in obtaining an abortion in another state without parental consent.

The Attorney General’s Office also obtained undercover video footage of Planned Parenthood employees in Independence, Missouri, arranging for a 13-year-old’s abortion without her parents’ consent. In that video, staff admitted that they arrange such procedures “every day,” in open defiance of Missouri law. That incident remains the subject of an ongoing investigation and enforcement action in Boone County Circuit Court.

“Today’s victory ensures that Missouri’s parental consent laws will continue to safeguard young girls, hold abortion providers accountable, and uphold the values of Missouri families for generations to come,” concluded Attorney General Hanaway