Missouri AG finds no evidence Planned Parenthood mishandled fetal tissue

An investigation in Missouri found no evidence that Planned Parenthood's St. Louis clinic mishandled fetal tissue or engaged in unlawful activity, Attorney General Chris Koster's office said on Monday.

Koster's office had launched an investigation after an anti-abortion group released videos over the summer alleging that Planned Parenthood in other states illegally sold fetal tissue.

"The evidence reviewed by my investigators supports Planned Parenthood's representation that fetal tissue is handled in accordance with Missouri law," Koster said in a news release. "We have discovered no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Planned Parenthood's St. Louis facility is selling fetal tissue."

The Attorney General's Office interviewed workers at Planned Parenthood, the only licensed surgical abortion facility in Missouri, and reviewed documents from all 317 abortions during a 30-day audit, according to the statement. The investigation found that all tissue from abortions was examined at a pathology lab then incinerated.

Planned Parenthood came under attack over the summer when anti-abortion group the Center for Medical Progress released a series of secretly recorded videos alleging the group sold aborted fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood says the videos were distorted with deliberately deceptive edits and denies allegations that it has improperly used fetal tissue from abortions.

Republicans in Congress tried and failed this month to strip federal money for Planned Parenthood in a government funding bill.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Lambert)