http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/10/texas-triggers-plan-to-defund-planned-parenthood-a/
With the effort to defund Planned Parenthood stalled at the federal level, Texas is spearheading a plan that could "open the floodgates" for states to strip taxpayer dollars from the abortion giant one by one.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, sent a first-of-its-kind waiver to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on June 28 asking the agency to approve federal funding for a state-administered family planning program that excludes abortion providers and their affiliates from participation.
If the Trump administration approves the request, Texas Right to Life legislative director John Seago said, it could set off a chain reaction of copycat programs in red states across the nation.
"For the majority of states that want to provide family planning services without sending taxpayer dollars to the abortion industry, that's a win-win solution," Mr. Seago said. "Republicans do want a strong network for women's health services, and the prospect that you can do that while protecting life is something that I think a lot of states would jump on board with."
CMS will take public comment until Aug. 4 before deciding whether to approve the request.
Texas launched the Women's Health Program, now called Healthy Texas Women, in 2007 with the goal of reducing Medicaid costs. Initially a joint state-federal venture, the program allocated funds, most of which were federal, to clinics that provide contraception, STI testing, cancer screenings and other health care services to low-income women.
The program nominally banned the participation of clinics that "perform or promote elective abortion" and their affiliates, but the Texas Health and Human Services Commission didn't try to enforce that prohibition against Planned Parenthood until 2011.
When Texas finally sought to enforce the ban, Planned Parenthood sued, arguing that CMS rules bar the state from excluding clinics just because they perform abortions. In a 2012 ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Texas and upheld the ban.
But when the program came up for renewal, CMS, under the Obama administration, declined to pick it up.
In the ensuing years, Texas continued to fund the Women's Health Program with state dollars. But now it's petitioning the Trump administration for federal funding that could amount to $35 million per year. ...
The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted. ~ D.H. Lawrence
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