The issue of defunding Planned Parenthood took a big step on Monday as Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Planned Parenthood would no longer receive funding from the state’s Medicaid program.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General told the group and its affiliates in a letter that their state-federal Medicaid funding would end due to violations in the Medicaid program. According to USA Today, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates receive about $3 million to $4 million a year in Medicaid reimbursements.
“The State has determined that you and your Planned Parenthood affiliates are no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner,” the letter said.
The move comes after undercover videos showed employees of Planned Parenthood discussing the sale of fetal tissue and organs, which has sparked national uproar and controversy. After the videos were released, several government officials, including Gov. Abbott, called for an investigation. Congress is still investigating the claims made in the videos.
“Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” Gov. Abbott told NBC News. “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.”
Gov. Abbot has also stated that this latest step is part of his administration’s LIFE movement. The “F” in this movement stands for the deFunding of Planned Parenthood.
A similar situation is taking place in Louisiana where Gov. Bobby Jindal stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving state money. Planned Parenthood quickly filed a lawsuit that reinstated their funding for 14 days; the judge’s order came just hours before Texas announced their defunding move.
Planned Parenthood told NBC News that they will rebuke the new steps and fight for the funding. They noted that they provide non-abortion health care services to thousands of women through Medicaid statewide, according to ABC News.
“It is completely outrageous that Texas officials are using these thoroughly discredited, fraudulent videos to cut women off from preventive health care, including cancer screenings, HIV testing, and birth control,” Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement to the Associated Press.
“We will fight back against this outrageous, malicious, political attack in Texas with everything we’ve got, and we will protect women’s access to the health care they need and deserve.”
Planned Parenthood continues to deny that they have done anything wrong and that the undercover videos that were released over the summer were biased in their editing.