KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas paid out-of-state law firms at least $899,000 in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, according to records obtained by KCUR radio.

The records show that the state paid three East Coast law firms to argue its case for more than two years before Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's administration abandoned the effort in April.

The case began after then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback announced his intention to join a national effort to defund the organization after a 2015 video purported to show the group sold fetal tissue for profit. Subsequent...