Texas Gets Green Light to Block Planned Parenthood Funding

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Texas received great news from the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. After five years and multiple hearings, the Court ruled that the State of Texas can remove Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program.This month we ask you to contact the Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the state agency that manages the Medicaid program. We need to urge that agency to act as quickly as possible.

SAMPLE EMAIL MESSAGE — Please use your own words

EMAIL ADDRESS: HHSCExecutiveCommissioner@hhsc.state.tx.us

Cecile Erwin Young
Executive Commissioner

Dear Commissioner Young,

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has given the State of Texas the ability to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a provider from the state’s Medicaid program.

Please remove Planned Parenthood as quickly as possible. They have violated federal and state laws related to selling body parts harvested from aborted babies, as determined by the Inspector General.

Furthermore, the state does not need Planned Parenthood. Texas has far better programs that provide women’s health services to low-income women, including the Healthy Texas Women’s program with more than 3,000 providers.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Background

• On Monday, November 23, the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Texas can remove Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program, their last source of public money in the state. You can read the Court’s opinion here.
• The court considered the case en banc and issued an 11-5 decision. All four of President Trump’s nominees voted with the majority.
• In 2015, the state’s inspector general found Planned Parenthood violated state and federal laws and was not “capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner.” The findings stemmed from investigations into Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of baby body parts at its Houston abortion facility for research and sale. The information was exposed in an undercover video released by the Center for Medical Progress.
• Planned Parenthood stands to lose ~$3 million per year in taxpayer funds. This is the last known public money Planned Parenthood is receiving in Texas, down from more than $30 million per year 10 years ago. At that time, the Texas Legislature began passing bill after bill signed by Governors Perry and Abbott that dismantled Planned Parenthood’s state and local funds, a major goal of Texas Alliance for Life.

Please let us know you’ve contacted Commissioner Young.

Send comments to info@texasallianceforlife.org.