Texas announced Monday that it is cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood due to concerns raised by a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue, and the alleged profits gained from selling them.
Officials cited the series of controversial videos in a statement issued to Planned Parenthood early Monday, saying Texas is ending Medicaid's participation with PP, meaning the nonprofit will no longer receive Medicaid funding in the state.
"Following the release of gruesome videos filmed at Planned Parenthood facilities, including Gulf Coast in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott announced his LIFE Initiative to provide greater protections for children in the womb and prevent the sale of baby body parts," the statement reads.
The cancellation "calls for funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers out of taxpayer money to be eliminated completely, both at the State and local levels," the announcement continued.
Abbott concluded that canceling Medicaid participation for Planned Parenthood in Texas moves the state closer to "providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable - the unborn."
The announcement comes after a federal judge ruled that Louisiana must keep making Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood for two more weeks as the case progresses, according to Reuters.
This decision is expected to draw a legal challenge from supporters, just like the ones in Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas, who argue cutting Planned Parenthood's access to Medicaid violates federal law that states that beneficiaries must be allowed to choose from any qualified health provider willing to serve them.
Officials counter, however, saying that PP "committed and condoned numerous acts of misconduct," such as the altering the method of abortions to facilitate the donation of fetal tissue and inadvertently allowing the undercover filmmakers to handle fetal tissue without proper "protective barriers," according to The Hill.
Despite concerns of the hole in women's healthcare coverage that PP's defunding might bring, Abbott's office notes the termination "will not affect access to care because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas including federally qualified heath 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."
