ST. LOUIS _ A Lincoln County, Mo., couple have sued Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and a Brentwood medical lab, claiming they discarded the remains of their aborted fetus against their wishes.
Alexis Gibbons, 32, and Richard Gibbons, 34, who live near Winfield, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court claiming that Planned Parenthood and Pathology Services Inc. violated their right to bury their son's remains when they disposed of his body without informing the couple.
The lawsuit says Alexis Gibbons had an abortion at Planned Parenthood in December 2015 after their doctor told the couple their son would not survive because he had anencephaly, a deadly neural tube defect that affects the brain. They made funeral arrangements with Baue Funeral Home in St. Charles for their son, Jackson, who was stillborn after a procedure on Dec. 9.
Planned Parenthood's records "clearly show" the Gibbonses had requested their son's remains be returned to Planned Parenthood after testing at the lab so that his body could be transferred to Baue, according to the lawsuit. Planned Parenthood launched an investigation after receiving calls from Baue asking about Jackson's body. In January 2016, a representative from Planned Parenthood told the couple that the lab had discarded Jackson's body.
The Gibbonses had planned to have Baue make hand- and footprints of Jackson so that the couple could make a necklace, the lawsuit says. The Gibbonses had planned to store Jackson's ashes in an urn on a shelf in their home to memorialize him.
In response, Jesse Lawder, a Planned Parenthood spokesman, provided a statement: "While we are not able to comment on this situation specifically, I want to make clear that our patients are our No. 1 priority in all matters, and that we make every effort to honor the wishes of those in our care."
Telephone numbers for Pathology Services were disconnected Friday. The lab was criticized in 2015 over its failure to register with the state for several years.
Their suit claims negligence by Planned Parenthood and Pathology Services and a violation of state law regarding their "right of sepulcher and burial." They seek at least $50,000 in damages.
