Secret recordings of Planned Parenthood officials talking about using fetal tissue for medical research have surfaced recently and determined Republican governors in more than one state to announce that they will be cutting off Medicaid funds offered to Planned Parenthood clinics.
However, it is unclear as of yet if federal law allows Republican governors to carry out their plan.
Medicaid, which celebrated 50 years of activity at the end of last month, is one of the companies that pay for healthcare for individuals with low income. Medicaid representatives have said that people often go to any provider who has the qualifications needed to perform the service.
And federal funds have been of great help so far. For instance, there are 5000 low-income women who depend on Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana, in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. These clinics offer them birth control pills, pregnancy tests, and various other medical screenings. Abortions, however, are off limits.
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana governor, gave a statement on August 3 saying that he’s decided to cancel the contract that the state has with two (2) of the Planned Parenthood clinics. He told reporters that he was shocked to hear Planned Parenthood officials talking about “harvesting of organs from aborted babies”.
He went on to explain that “Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the people of Louisiana and shows a fundamental disrespect for human life”. However it’s worth mentioning that the two (2) Planned Parenthood clinics in his state don’t perform abortions.
Jindal would like patients to go somewhere else for their medical needs because there are many other providers in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.
After his announcement, several other governors from Utah, Arkansas and Alabama gave similar statements. But the key difference is that Planned Parenthood clinics actually perform abortions in these states.
Planned Parenthood officials gave a statement of their own, insisting that the organization does not use fetal tissue for medical research, in any of the states.
The issue may spawn a drawn-out legal battle that poses a great dilemma for the current Obama administration. If a state fails to abide the legal provisions that are governing Medicaid, federal government officials are allowed to cut off federal funds. The problem is that they have no desire to deny healthcare funds to poor people living n these states.
Each state is responsible for some of Medicaid’s costs, however 90 percent (90%) of the money that the company receives for its family planning services comes from Washington.
And Medicaid representatives have wasted no time informing state governors that their desire to cut off funds “may be in conflict with federal law”. If this proves to be the case, Planned Parenthood lawyers could sue these state governors.
Historically speaking, the odds aren’t in the favor of governors. A similar issue erupted in Indiana and Arizona back in 2011, when state officials tried to cut off Medicaid funds offered to Planned Parenthood clinics. They ended up losing court battles.
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