The Planned Parenthood Funding Battle Just Took A Major Turn With This State's Action

As the fight over federal funding for Planned Parenthood appears certain to resume when Congress reconvenes after its extended August recess, individual states are reviewing the ways in which they financially support the nation’s biggest abortion provider. New Hampshire — already in the political spotlight as an early primary battleground — has just made a major decision about spending tax dollars to support the controversial organization. The state is defunding Planned Parenthood facilities, according to The Washington Times.

In the wake of the release of five disturbing videos showing Planned Parenthood executives and top medical staff describing abortions performed in order to harvest body parts for apparent sale, the Times says the New Hampshire executive council has just voted “to terminate the state’s contract with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.”

The website lifenews.com says the amount of money Planned Parenthood will lose in New Hampshire is no insignificant amount: “…the Republican-led Executive Council has rejected roughly $650,000 in state taxpayer funding for the abortion company.”

New Hampshire’s Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan condemned the move to strip state funds from the abortion provider. Gov. Hassan is quoted in the Times article as saying that the action threatens to limit access to “important health services.”

However, the head of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee praises the vote to cut off state funding, issuing a statement that reads, in part:

This isn’t a matter of being pro-choice or pro-life. It’s about ensuring that public dollars are not being given to a company that may be engaged in criminal activity.

There’s also a call in New Hampshire to launch an official investigation into the practices of Planned Parenthood, to see if any laws have been broken with the possible sale of fetal body parts.

Just today, Wednesday, Texas opened a criminal investigation into the operations of Planned Parenthood in the Lone Star state. KXXV-TV reports that Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced the probe that was spurred by the undercover videos from the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress.

“This newest video makes it clear it is time for prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation in Harris County immediately,” said Patrick in a statement quoted in the TV news report.

The new video reveals Melissa Farrell, Director of Research at the center, meeting with a representative from the Center for Medical Progress posing as a fetal research company employee.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a candidate for the GOP nomination for president, has announced that his state is ending its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood, which has repeatedly claimed it follows all applicable laws in performing abortions and providing fetal tissue for medical research.

BCN editor’s note: This article first appeared at Western Journalism.