JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Some Republican lawmakers are once again trying to defund Planned Parenthood.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers can’t exclude abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, but Sen. Nick Schroer has a different approach.
“So this is taking that aside, stepping aside and doing the same exact thing, which is protecting our tax dollars from going towards these institutions,” Schroer said.
Even though abortion is illegal in Missouri, there is a push to stop reimbursements to abortion providers and their affiliates.
But others warn of the consequences that come with shutting out the organization.
“That will create additional, more unwanted pregnancies if people can’t get their birth control and then if there are children born and mothers need access to Medicaid, that increases funding for the state as well,” Sen. Lauren Arthur said.
This comes at a time when one coalition is circulating a petition to gather more than 171,000 signatures by May to ask voters to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
So far, the committee has not taken any action on the bill.
