Texas Ends Planned Parenthood Funding; Louisiana Ordered to Continue

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott cut off all state and local funding to Planned Parenthood in response to the 10 videos that show, in vivid detail, that the nation’s largest abortion provider sells aborted babies, both whole and in parts. Governor Abbott’s decision is part of his LIFE initiative and ends Medicaid participation and all taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood, as well as other abortion providers in the Lone Star State.

 

A Notice of Termination sent to Planned Parenthood’s registered agent, Melaney Linton, by the Texas Office of Inspector General spelled out the reasons for the decision to end Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid enrollment. The letter says that the organization is “liable, directly or by affiliation, for a series of Medicaid program violations.” The letter also stated that Texas found Planned Parenthood and all its Texas affiliates to be “no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner.”

 

Governor Abbott minced no words in his denunciation of Planned Parenthood and its practices. He addressed his decision to sever all state funding of the recently beleaguered organization in a statement to LifeNews.com, which the agency published on its website. That statement said, in part:

 

The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end. As such, ending the Medicaid participation of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the State of Texas is another step in providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable — the unborn.

 

Governor Abbott also said that by this recent action, “Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services.” Indeed, Texas has “stepped forward” and is setting an example for other states to follow. Not only did the state cut Planned Parenthood’s funding, but it did so in a way that may well stand up to the type of judicial activism that other states’ actions have encountered.

 

Planned Parenthood has argued in other cases that by ending funding to its affiliates, states are guilty of limiting women’s access to medical care because they will be unable to get the types of services that Planned Parenthood offers. The Notice of Termination addresses this argument head-on. “Your termination and that of all of your affiliates will not affect access to care in this State because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas,” the letter states, “including federally qualified health centers, Medicaid-certified rural health clinics, and other health care providers across the State that participate in the Texas Women’s Health Program and Medicaid.”

 

The letter also makes it clear that the videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress were largely responsible for the decision to terminate all state funding of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates and lists the following points — based on the videos — in support of the decision to terminate funding:

 

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