WASHINGTON, DC (Feb. 17th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today introduced the bicameral Women’s Public Health and Safety Act, which gives states the authority to exclude abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, from receiving state Medicaid funds. Congressman Michael Cloud (R-TX) will introduce the same bill in the House. Under current law, states are required to allow any qualified provider to participate in a state’s Medicaid system. A non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that Planned Parenthood received nearly $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements over a three-year period, accounting for 81 percent of the abortion provider’s joint federal-state funding stream.
Lankford was joined by Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Risch (R- ID), John Thune (R-SD), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) to introduce the Senate bill.
“Abortion is not health care,” said Lankford. “It should not be controversial to say that taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to support abortion providers. States should have the right to decide that Medicaid funds will not support an abortion provider’s bottom line. This bill is just one solution that we can advance to stand up for the self-evident fact that all children have value and—to ensure our government values every life, at every stage.”
“For too long, abortion providers have operated on the taxpayer’s dime, while performing elective abortions in the name of ‘healthcare,’” said Cloud. “Sixty percent of Americans object to taxpayer-funded abortions. Yet abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, have access to billions in state Medicaid dollars — which the taxpayer reimburses at 90 percent for family planning services. Sen. Lankford and I are seeking to empower states to end federal subsidies for abortion providers and to ensure quality healthcare is made available to women.”
The bill is supported by Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, CatholicVote, March for Life, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Americans United for Life, Students for Life Action, National Right to Life, Family Research Council, Family Policy Alliance, Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Ethics and Public Policy Center HHS Accountability Project.
Lankford is Chair of the Senate Values Action team and member of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, which advocates for issues including life and conscience protections.
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