Missouri's GOP lawmakers vote to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature on Wednesday passed a bill to ban Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood, a move they have tried for years in a state where almost all abortions are banned.
The bill, approved 106-48 Wednesday in the House, aims to make it illegal for Missouri’s Medicaid program to reimburse Planned Parenthood for health care services to low-income patients, such as pap smears and cancer screenings.
Abortions are not covered by Medicaid, and almost all abortions are illegal in Missouri. But abortion opponents say Planned Parenthood should not receive any public funding because clinics in other states provide abortions.
“My rhetorical question is: Is Planned Parenthood sending monies from our state budget to other states to allow for women to have an abortion?” Republican Rep. Brian Seitz asked during Wednesday debate on the House floor. “Abortion is murder.”