The CEO of the Planned Parenthood affiliate in Kansas says Gov. Sam Brownback is furthering “an extreme political agenda” by eliminating the abortion business’ Medicaid funding.
“We never cease to be surprised by the extent to which the governor will use his office to abuse authority to further an extreme political agenda,” said president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri Laura McQuade, reports the Kansas City Star.
The abortion business has filed a federal lawsuit against Brownback’s administration – as it has with other states that have eliminated its Medicaid funding. The lawsuit claims Kansas offered “no possible legitimate basis” for its decision to defund Planned Parenthood, and that the state is in violation of the “free choice of provider requirement” that gives patients the right to see the doctors of their choice.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Planned Parenthood may be forced to lay off staff, reduce hours or close a health center due to the elimination of its Medicaid funds.
Brownback, however, has been open and transparent about his desire to ensure every life has dignity in Kansas. In January, Brownback said during his State of the State address that he would “finish the job” of eliminating taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood by blocking its Medicaid funding.
“Kansas was founded on the principal that every life has dignity, that every life has beauty, that every life has value,” the Republican governor stressed. “Every year since I became Governor we have enacted pro-life legislation. We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done.”
“Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of baby body parts is antithetical to our belief in human dignity,” he continued. “Today, I am directing Secretary Susan Mosier to ensure that not a single dollar of taxpayer money goes to Planned Parenthood through our Medicaid program. I welcome legislation that would enshrine this directive in state law.”
According to the Wichita Eagle, the reasons Brownback cited for the elimination of the abortion business’ funding are: “noncompliance with laws, administrative regulations or with providing medical provider information; noncompliance with provider agreements; unethical or unprofessional conduct; and ‘other good cause.’”
Brownback announced his directive following the release of a series of investigative videos exposing the abortion business’ apparent practices of selling the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics and altering the position of babies during abortions in order to harvest the most intact organs.
Documents examined by a special House panel investigating fetal tissue practices have revealed Planned Parenthood is likely profiting from the sale of baby body parts.
Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said the governor is seeking to “protect the unborn and support a culture of life in Kansas.”
“Planned Parenthood has been fully informed of the reasons for this decision, including their own refusal to submit to a lawful inspection of their premises,” she added.
McQuade said the governor’s reasons for eliminating Planned Parenthood’s funding were “bogus and unfounded.”
The Obama administration – a longtime friend to Planned Parenthood – has threatened states that have passed laws defunding the abortion giant and, most recently, warned all 50 states that it considers cutting off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding a violation of federal law.
Ten states have eliminated Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding since the release of the undercover videos exposing the baby body parts scandal.
“These political attacks on our patients have gone from a simmer to full rolling boil,” said president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards. “What they couldn’t do in Congress, they’re now trying to do state by state, and jeopardizing care for more than half a million people.”
Sen. Ted Cruz encouraged states to take the lead in defunding Planned Parenthood after the Republican-led Congress refused to do so.
“I encourage every state legislature and every governor to stand up and lead on Planned Parenthood,” the former GOP 2016 contender told Breitbart News last year during an interview. “Unfortunately, Republican leadership in Washington is unwilling to lead and, indeed, it’s Republican leadership who’s joined with Barack Obama in leading the fight to preserve taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.”
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin have all redirected Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood to other federally qualified healthcare centers that provide more comprehensive services and also do not perform abortions.
In its 2014-2015 fiscal year, Planned Parenthood reports it performed 323,999 abortions and was the recipient of $553.7 million in taxpayer funding.
Though Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing in its sale of body parts, the abortion business also released a statement in October of last year announcing it will no longer accept payments for aborted fetal tissue. The organization and its leftwing media supporters continue to insist the videos, produced by the Center for Medical Progress, were “deceptively edited.”
However, a Democrat opposition research firm named Fusion – hired by Planned Parenthood itself to review the videos – said that while their analysts observed the videos had been edited, “the analysis did not reveal widespread evidence of substantive video manipulation.”
“[A]nalysts found no evidence that CMP inserted dialogue not spoken by Planned Parenthood staff,” Fusion also noted.
An analysis by Coalfire, a third-party forensics company hired by Alliance Defending Freedom, found that the videos were “not manipulated” and that they are “authentic.”
The pro-life community has accused Planned Parenthood of colluding with its political allies in Houston, Texas and California to incriminate the investigative journalists who produced the video series. Journalists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were indicted by a Houston grand jury that was supposedly considering an indictment of Planned Parenthood.
Two pro-choice law professors wrote the indictment of Daleiden and Merrit – instead of Planned Parenthood – amounted to “a stunning act of legal jujitsu” and was a “deeply disturbing” outcome both for the First Amendment and undercover citizen journalists attempting to expose corruption.
In California, attorney general Kamala Harris has been called upon to resign following her office’s raid on Daleiden’s apartment. Harris received thousands of dollars in contributions from Planned Parenthood for her re-election campaign and, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, has placed a petition of support for the abortion business on her campaign website.
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