The federal government may not be making good on the new administration’s promises to defund the major abortion provider Planned Parenthood, but many states are taking their own steps to end government-funded abortions.
According to Samantha Gobba at WORLD, “Nebraska and Tennesee this month joined more than a dozen states that have cut funding for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”
In Nebraska, Governor Pete Ricketts signed a budget into law that redirects funds from abortion providers to other family planning centers that do not perform abortions. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, meanwhile, signed two bills that also take a hit at the powerful abortion provider. One gives preference to other “federally qualified health centers” over the category of facilities that would include abortion centers. The second bill blocks state funds from going to Planned Parenthood.
Commenting on the second piece of legislation, Gobba notes that it could “face a tough legal challenge” since “[s]imilar measures in other states have had mixed success.” At least six of the 16 states that have tried to “legislatively or judicially redirect” funding from Planned Parenthood, she says, have been prevented from doing so by federal judges. Tennessee may end up encountering a similar barrier.
Leah Hickman is a 2017 graduate of Hillsdale College’s English program. She freelances for BreakPoint.org and has written pieces for multiple Hillsdale College campus publications as well as for ChristianAnswers.net/Spotlight and the Discover Laura Blog. Read more by Leah at aworldofgrasspeople.blogspot.com.
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Publication date: April 17, 2018
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