Republicans Want States To Have Ability to Opt Out of Medicaid Funding of Abortions

Republicans have revived a bill that was first introduced many years ago and would allow states to exclude. Abortion Providers from the government-run Medicaid Program

The Women’s Public Health and Safety Act is the title of the bill. It aims to eliminate the millions of Medicaid reimbursements Planned Parenthood gets.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report, revealed that abortion organizations received $1.3Billion in Medicaid reimbursements for the past three-years.

U.S. Senator James Lankford (Republican of Oklahoma), who is the main sponsor of the abortion funding bill, stated that the money accounts to 81 percent federal tax dollars received for Planned Parenthood.

“Abortion is not health care,” Lankford said. “It shouldn’t seem controversial to state that taxpayers shouldn’t have to support abortion providers.

The Epoch Times inquired of Planned Parenthood about the proposed measure, but they did not respond.

The group praised Democrat-led legislation that called for record funding of over $600 million to support abortion in December before Republicans took control of the House.

It also sought the end of the Hyde Amendment, which restrains federal Medicaid money from being used for abortions.

“This amendment most harms people who, due to this country’s legacy of systemic racism and bias, have relied most on Medicaid—including black, Latino, and LGBT people,” Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America stated in a statement.

The main sponsor of the Women’s Public Health and Safety Act was Congressman Michael Cloud (R.Texas). He stressed that every state has the option to opt in or out of Medicaid funding for abortions.

He cited an American study showing that 60 percent opposed taxpayer-funded abortions.

“For too long, abortion providers have operated on the taxpayers’ dime, while performing elective abortions in the name of ‘healthcare,'” Cloud.

Many pro-life groups, including Students for Life Action, support the bill. They recently exposed Christian colleges with connections to Planned Parenthood.

The legislation has been also supported by the Ethics and Public Policy Center HHS Accountability Project. The conservative group opposes abortion and views the issue of abortion in terms of a baby’s constitutional rights to protection.

Republicans have taken control of the House and are now introducing bills that would have been defeated by Democrats. Many of these bills target government funding for abortion.

Another bill that was revived in this session is The Prohibiting Abortion on Federal Lands Act. This would prohibit any promotion of abortion on federal property such as military installations, national parks, courtshouses, or courthouses.

Congress is now reviewing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. Various versions of it have been introduced since 1998. Under it, anyone who transports a minor—other than her parent—over a state line for an abortion would be charged criminally and face imprisonment.

H. R. 330 is a new anti-abortion bill that seeks to expand Title X so that grants under Title X are not allowed to be granted to any organization that supports or performs abortion.

Democrat Pro-Abortion Bills

Another Republican-sponsored bill, the American Values Act is designed to amend the Foreign Assistance Act Of61, which was enacted under President John F. Kennedy’s Administration. It will prohibit funding for abortions as a method to family planning.

The Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act is designed to protect pharmacists who refuse to fill abortion-inducing drug prescriptions based on their moral and religious beliefs. It also gives them the opportunity to sue a government agency for violating the law.

The House passed a new bill in January 2023 that would grant infants who have survived an abortion the same rights to medical care as any other newborn.

The bill makes it possible for doctors to be charged criminally for failing resuscitate children born after an unsuccessful abortion.

“A child who survives an abortion attempt, who is outside the womb, breathing and struggling for life, doesn’t deserve equal protection under the law?” Rep. Kat Cammack (R. Fla.), asked for clarification at a hearing regarding the proposal.

While the Republican-sponsored antiabortion legislation is overwhelming, there are some pro-abortion Democrat bills. One of these bills calls for the removal of a risk assessment requirement prior to receiving mifepristone.

Also known as RU-486 the oral medication can be used to cause miscarriage during the first 63 day of an unintended pregnancy. It can also be used for the termination of the second trimester.

There are approximately 50 bills currently in Congress and another dozen resolutions proposed.