Senators summon Planned Parenthood CEO over subpoena

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers in a rare move Thursday voted to summon the CEO of a regional Planned Parenthood to explain why she should not be held in contempt of the state Senate for defying a subpoena that demanded documents on how the organization handles fetal remains.

The 24-8 party-line Senate vote follows Republican outcry over undercover videos released last summer that purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal body parts.

The organization has denied the allegations in the videos, which reference its St. Louis clinic, the state's only abortion provider, and Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster found no evidence of wrongdoing in Missouri.

The Missouri Senate is ordering Mary Kogut, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, to appear in the chamber at 2 p.m. April 25 to justify why she has not complied with the November subpoena -- and why she should not face punishment.

Senators also approved a measure that summons Dr. James Miller for the same time.

Miller owns the suburban St. Louis Pathology Services Inc. that reviews tissue from Planned Parenthood.

Kogut said Thursday she hasn't decided whether she will appear and she's still discussing the matter with regional Planned Parenthood officials and their attorneys.

The Senate action came the same day the Missouri House voted 120-34 to pass a bill banning donation of fetal tissue from abortions.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, chairman of the Missouri Senate committee investigating Planned Parenthood and a Republican candidate for attorney general, has said lawmakers cannot be sure the organization has not broken the law without the records the Senate subpoenaed.

Those documents include all of Planned Parenthood's policies and written communication on disposing fetal tissue, as well as information on ambulance visits and all documents mentioning two doctors featured in the undercover videos.

The Missouri Constitution allows lawmakers to punish those held in contempt with a fine and 10 days in jail, although records show that hasn't happened in more than a century.