Arkansas defunds Planned Parenthood after court rules state can end taxpayer funding

Arkansas has eliminated taxpayer subsidies to Planned Parenthood after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state could defund the abortion giant.

Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy Webb said on Monday the state ended the abortion chain’s Medicaid provider status last week, ensuring that Planned Parenthood facilities no longer receive tax dollars through the program.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson praised the 8th Circuit ruling in a statement:

“It is important for the state to have the clear authority to terminate Medicaid providers who act in unethical ways and in violation of state policy,” Hutchinson said. “The decision early on to terminate Planned Parenthood as a provider was the right decision, and I am delighted with the decision of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in affirming the right of the State to take this action.”

Hutchinson terminated Medicaid payments and existing contracts with the abortion giant in 2015 after a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood executives haggling over the body parts of aborted children emerged. The Arkansas governor said the disturbing videos reveal that Planned Parenthood “does not represent the values” of Arkansas, and citizens are “better served by terminating any and all existing contracts” with the abortion corporation and its affiliated organization, Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma.

The abortion lobby, however, filed suit, and the case made its way to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Planned Parenthood received over $51,000 in taxpayer-funded payments in Arkansas through Medicaid in 2015. Subsidies given to the abortion giant free up the corporation’s other expenses, allowing Planned Parenthood to lobby for more government funding, pay for staff and facilities where abortions are committed, and purchase equipment.

Taxpayer Funding of Abortion at Planned Parenthood