JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson is scheduled to sign legislation Thursday barring state Medicaid dollars from being used to reimburse Planned Parenthood for health care services.
Despite abortion being banned in Missouri in almost all instances, Republican lawmakers approved the legislation last month after previous attempts to financially hobble the women’s health provider were tossed out by the courts.
The governor’s signature on the proposal will come as Missouri voters are poised to weigh in later this year on whether to restore abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
A possible ballot measure for the Nov. 5 election would legalize abortions until after the point of fetal viability. It would also prohibit the state from discriminating against reproductive health care providers.
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Backers of the funding cutoff say even though no abortions are being performed in Missouri, money that goes to Planned Parenthood indirectly supports clinics in other states that allow abortions.
Opponents say the measure will restrict low-income patients’ access to other health care services performed by the organization, such as cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control, annual wellness exams and more.
Planned Parenthood said the legislation also violates federal Medicaid law, which guarantees every patient’s freedom to choose any willing and qualified provider.
In a statement issued after the measure was approved in the House, Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood of 51 Region and Southwest Missouri said the move could limit health care options throughout the state.
“Experts are clear: there are not enough other providers in the health care safety-net system to absorb Planned Parenthood’s patients. At Planned Parenthood, we’ll continue to do everything we can to continue serving our patients — no matter what.”
The measure moved through the Republican-controlled House on a party-line 106-48 vote, with five Republicans and three Democrats absent.
The measure cleared the Senate in early April on a party-line vote after Democrats staged a 12-hour filibuster.
The governor’s action could break a logjam that has kept lawmakers from approving a state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 by a 6 p.m. Friday deadline.
The Senate’s five-member Freedom Caucus has tied passage of the Planned Parenthood defunding measure to a renewal of the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, a tax on medical providers that generates billions of dollars of funding for the state’s Medicaid program.
The hard-right splinter faction had called for Parson, a Republican, to sign the defunding measure before the splinter faction allows action on the FRA renewal.
The legislation is House Bi
The Missouri House of Representatives briefly debated a bill to cut funding to Planned Parenthood before sending the bill to the governor's desk on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Video provided by the House communications office; edited by Beth O'Malley