Mizzou Will No Longer Let Medical Students Train At Planned Parenthood

The school canceled ten contracts with the family planning provider across five cities.

Medical and nursing students at the University of Missouri no longer have the option to do birth control and abortion training rotations at local Planned Parenthood clinics, after the school canceled all ten of its contracts with the family planning provider.

The Missourian reported Tuesday that Mizzou has ended its 26-year relationship with Planned Parenthood amid a state investigation into the embattled organization. The Senate Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life began investigating the local Planned Parenthood affiliate in July after a series of heavily edited undercover videos purported to show Planned Parenthood selling fetal parts after abortions.

Obstetrics and gynecology students at Mizzou previously had the option to complete rotation hours at Planned Parenthood clinics, where they received training on providing surgical abortions and placing long-acting contraception methods. Rotations for nursing students included instruction on birth control, gynecological exams and cancer screenings. None of the students will have the option to shadow Planned Parenthood doctors under the new policy.

"The nursing school administration reviews contracts routinely and decided to cancel them since there were ample opportunities at many other learning sites," Mary Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the University of Missouri Health System, told The Missourian.

Planned Parenthood's Missouri affiliate did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the family planning organization has said repeatedly that it does not sell fetal tissue after abortions. It sometimes donates the tissue for medical research, which is a legal practice.

Multiple state investigations and a federal investigation into Planned Parenthood have so far turned up nothing.

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