Louisiana Governor announces termination of Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was one of the first lawmakers to call for an investigation of Planned Parenthood on the day the first undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress was released. Today, Jindal announced that the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is exercising the state’s right to terminate the abortion provider’s contract with Medicaid.

In a news release today, Jindal’s office said:

Today, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals informed Planned Parenthood it is exercising its right to terminate Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid provider agreement. In recent weeks, multiple videos have surfaced showing Planned Parenthood Federation of America senior personnel and other employees describing how they actively engage in illegal partial birth abortion procedures and conduct these abortions in a manner that leaves body parts intact so that they can later be sold on the open market.

The statement adds:

Governor Jindal said, “In recent weeks, it has been shocking to see reports of the alleged activities taking place at Planned Parenthood facilities across the country. Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the people of Louisiana and shows a fundamental disrespect for human life.  It has become clear that this is not an organization that is worthy of receiving public assistance from the state.”

The Medicaid contract between DHH and Planned Parenthood, as well as the law, says that either party may cancel the contract with a 30-day written notice, which is what Louisiana did today. The news release says:

[T]he Planned Parenthood Medicaid provider contract because Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the State of Louisiana in regards to respecting human life.

Jindal’s office is also informed about the fact that cutting off the Medicaid contract of the two Planned Parenthood providers in the state will not hurt women’s health care because the Louisiana Medicaid Family Planning Services program “is required to provide adequate services to women across the state. Cancellation of this contract at will does not jeopardize those services in any way as Planned Parenthood is just one of many providers in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas.”