Trial of the Century Against Planned Parenthood: What’s at Stake as the ACLJ Takes On the Abortion Giant

Next week in Missouri, a courtroom battle will begin that could shape the future of lifesaving protections for women and children far beyond Missouri state lines.

The ACLJ is standing alongside Missouri Attorney General Catharine Hanaway as Planned Parenthood attempts to dismantle longstanding, commonsense pro-life laws that protect patient safety, parental rights, and medical accountability. What happens in this case will not stay in Missouri. A win in Missouri for Planned Parenthood means the abortion giant will take this blueprint and strip other states of the power to enforce basic health and safety regulations nationwide.

That is why this case matters. And that is why the ACLJ is in court. But we need you to take action with us. Add your name to our petition: Defeat Planned Parenthood in Court.

Planned Parenthood is not challenging one narrow provision or technical requirement. Instead, it has launched a sweeping legal attack designed to eliminate nearly every safeguard governing abortion in Missouri. Their lawsuit seeks to roll back regulations that apply to abortion facilities and physicians – rules that every other medical provider must follow as a basic condition of operation. This is not about access to “healthcare,” despite Planned Parenthood’s rhetoric. It is about whether abortion providers can operate without oversight or accountability when patients are harmed or abortions fail.

At stake are laws that protect women at their most vulnerable moments and ensure that abortion facilities meet minimum medical standards. Among the key provisions under attack:

• Patient safety regulations that require abortion facilities to maintain clean instruments, sterile environments, and emergency protocols – standards expected of all medical providers.
• Physician licensure that ensures doctors performing abortions are properly credentialed, have relationships with local hospitals, and are subject to discipline when they violate the law.
• In-person examination requirements before chemical abortion drugs are dispensed, protecting women from dangerous complications and misdiagnoses. This includes a 72-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion.
• Reporting and transparency requirements, allowing the state to identify patterns of injury, abuse, or malpractice.
• Clinic licensing requirements that abortion facilities meet the same qualifications as an ambulatory surgical center.
• Accurate counseling and informed consent based on scientifically accurate information before a woman undergoes an abortion.
• Regulation on the prescribing and dispensing of medication abortions, including a written plan in case of a complication.
• Prohibiting selective abortion based on sex, race, or fetal anomalies and labeling what it is: discrimination.
• A restriction against aborting children (absent medical emergency) after viability.

Planned Parenthood argues these laws are “burdensome” and “discriminatory.” In reality, these laws are burdensome only to an industry that profits from avoiding scrutiny and whose last priority is the safety of its patients.

So why are we calling this the “trial of the century” against Planned Parenthood?

First, the abortion giant is searching for its next defining moment after the fall of Roe v. Wade. A sweeping victory at the state level – especially in Missouri – would give Planned Parenthood exactly that.

Second, with federal defunding disappearing, Planned Parenthood is desperate for a win. Its survival strategy now depends on dismantling state authority wherever possible.

If Planned Parenthood succeeds in the heartland of Missouri, the consequences will be immediate and far-reaching. Other states will face copycat lawsuits. State health departments will be sidelined. Legislatures will see their authority stripped away. And women will pay the price as abortion providers operate with less oversight and accountability.

But if Missouri prevails, the outcome will send a powerful message: Abortion providers are not above the law.

This is not just another case. It is a turning point – with national consequences.

This case also exposes a deeper truth. Planned Parenthood’s legal strategy confirms what pro-life advocates have long known: When given the choice between patient safety and operational convenience, Planned Parenthood chooses convenience every time. Planned Parenthood chooses the almighty dollar, every time.

The ACLJ’s role in this fight is critical. Our legal team is not merely defending Missouri’s laws – we are defending the principle that states have both the right and the duty to protect life, safeguard medical standards, and hold powerful institutions accountable.

This is not just another lawsuit. It is a defining moment. This trial will overlap with the 2026 March for Life in Washington, D.C. We will be marching for life in the streets of D.C. and in courthouse hallways and before judges.

We are committed to seeing this fight through, not only for Missouri, but for every state watching what happens next. This is the trial of the century against Planned Parenthood.

Add your name to our petition: Defeat Planned Parenthood in Court.