Texas To Cut State Funding To Planned Parenthood

Texas will no longer fund Planned Parenthood after a series of controversial videos were released over the summer, officials announced Monday.

The women’s health organization will be cut out of the state’s Medicaid budget completely.

SEE ALSO:

• Group Claims Planned Parenthood Sells Fetal Tissue
• White House: No Plans To Defund Planned Parenthood

An anti-abortion group in July released undercover videos, claiming that Planned Parenthood sells fetal parts for profit. But critics have called the videos deceptive and heavily edited, with the White House saying it has no plans to withhold funding from the non-profit.

One video showed a Houston clinic allowing people in its medical facilities wearing only gloves and no other protective equipment, which is a violation of the state’s health code, Texas inspector general Stuart Brown said in a letter to Planned Parenthood.

The people wearing only gloves were undercover videographers.

Abortion services already aren’t covered in the taxpayer money Planned Parenthood receives, according to the Houston Chronicle. Instead, the money goes to other services like breast cancer screening, pregnancy tests, STD testing and birth control.

“Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.

“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.”

The cut in funding would save the state government $325,000 per year — .002 percent of the state’s annual Medicaid budget — according to Texas Monthly. Planned Parenthood in Texas would continue to receive nearly $3 million per year in federal funding.

“Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has been a trusted health care provider for nearly 80 years,” Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast said in a statement posted to Twitter. “More than ever it is clear that efforts to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood through Medicaid are politically motivated. They clearly have nothing to do with the well-being of the women and men in Houston and southeast Texas.”

Louisiana recently attempted a similar cut in state funding, but a federal judge Monday ordered that the state must continue to provide money while legal battles play out in court.

Read the full letter sent to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast below: