By: Corey Olson

One year after Texas banned most abortions in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the state could bankrupt the largest abortion provider. Texas is suing Planned Parenthood for millions in Medicaid charges rung up after the organization was booted off of Medicaid. “Planned Parenthood was caught in an undercover operation a few years ago harvesting and selling body parts from babies that were aborted at their facilities,” says Dr. Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. “They were eliminated from the state Medicaid program because they were engaged in fraud—selling the body parts.”

Planned Parenthood challenged their removal from Medicaid in court, but continued to bill the program while the case played out. Ultimately, the courts sided with Texas, but not before Planned Parenthood had charged some $17 million to the program. “They were fraudulently billing the state of Texas, milking them out of money for our tax dollars,” says Pojman. “The state of Texas deserves that back with penalties. This is according to federal law and state law.”

“Simply put, Planned Parenthood does not deserve that money, the state of Texas should get it back.”

In addition to the $17 million in actual Medicaid charges, Texas is seeking more than $1 billion in penalties, fines and punitive damages. A federal judge in North Texas heard arguments in the case last week. If the state wins the case, the future of Planned Parenthood in Texas is uncertain.

“We don’t know if the national office will try and keep Planned Parenthood alive, or whether the three affiliates in Texas will end up closing,” says Pojman. “At this point, we just don’t know.”

By: BY JULIE ROVNER

Those measures could get lost in the shuffle of the state’s frantic 140-day, every-other-year session, if legislative leaders don’t consider them a priority. The state’s trigger law banning almost all abortions that went into effect last year “appears to be working very well,” said Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group. In August 2022, three abortions were documented in the state, down from more 5,700 reported during the same month a year earlier, according to the most recent state data.

The top state House Republican said his priority is boosting support for new moms, for example, by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months.

It’s “an opportunity for the Texas House to focus more than ever on supporting mothers and children,” said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan.

By: Rissa Shaw

“In those extremely rare cases where pregnancy may endanger a woman’s life or cause severe risk of impairment of a major bodily function, that exception is the same exception, language-wise, as in the law that was passed in 2013 to protect unborn babies from abortion beginning at 20 weeks, so this is language that has been in statues in Texas for almost ten years,” said Amy O’Donnell, Communications Director for Texas Alliance For Life. “But apparently there does appear to be a need for clarification because some doctor’s aren’t aware that treatment for ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage is not considered abortion, it’s not prohibited by our pro-life laws including the Human Life Protection Act, and when the mother’s life is in danger, our laws very clearly state they are allowed to intervene in those situations–not to cause the death of the unborn child, but to protect the life of the mother.”

Although she says the legislation is already clear, she says her non-profit would support lawmakers in providing additional clarification if they see fit.

“Words matter, and the words clearly spell out that these stories that we’re seeing in Texas about ectopic pregnancy treatments not being available or miscarriage treatments not being available or life of the mother—the law clearly spells out that all of those treatments are available and acceptable in Texas law, they are not considered abortion in any way, shape, or form,” said O’Donnell. “If you encounter a doctor who is not aware of what Texas laws really state, and because of that don’t provide good medical care, you need to run far and fast.”

However, in campaign ads, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has been using healthcare professionals and women who say the life of the mother is not being protected.

By: News Release & Posted By Staff

PoliTech will host a panel forum to discuss the topic of Abortion in Texas. This is an important issue in which constructive discourse is crucial at this time. The group of 6 panelists includes representatives from special-interest groups and state legislators from across the political spectrum.

www.facebook.com/politechusa
Senator Charles Perry (R), Texas District 28
Kathleen Brown (D), US District 13 Congressional Candidate -Delma Limones, AVOW Texas
Mark Lee Dickson, Right to Life
Amy O’Donnell, Texas Alliance for Life
Dr Allison Gilbert, OB/GYN, Southwestern Women’s Center
Time & Venue:

Thursday, September 8th @ 7:00 PM
Mckenzie-Merket Alumni Center
2521 17th St Lubbock TX 79409
EVENT OPEN TO PUBLIC AND ADMISSION IS FREE
Event will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel & Facebook

Abortion opponents acknowledged Republican leaders had promised for years to full federal reimbursement for Planned Parenthood, and that voters would proceed to maintain them to this. Earlier than winning the presidential election in November, Trump had furthermore promised to defund Planned Parenthood, and fought to glean the healthcare bill passed.

“I’m assured the Republicans in Congress and the president will inch forward and defund Planned Parenthood,” acknowledged Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion Texas Alliance for Life.

The anguish “is so dear to the electorate who keep the Republicans and president in place of job,” he acknowledged after the bill was as soon as pulled.

On the opposite aspect of the anguish, Georges Benjamin, the American Public Nicely being Association’s executive director, welcomed the withdrawal of the legislation, and acknowledged the renewed public consideration on Planned Parenthood may most certainly impress future efforts to restrict its funding extra no longer easy.

“I mediate in lots of solutions it would be more difficult for them to head after Planned Parenthood, no longer that they may most certainly no longer,” he acknowledged in a phone interview.

“I am hoping individuals acknowledge that Planned Parenthood did extra than abortions, that they acknowledge it has a broader portfolio,” he acknowledged, referring to products and providers similar to cancer screenings equipped by the organization.