Federal judge prevents Mississippi from defunding Planned Parenthood

In May, Republican Mississippi Governor Phil Bryan signed a bill into law defunding Planned Parenthood. The law “forbids any Medicaid reimbursements to any entity that performs or is otherwise involved with abortions,” as Calvin Freiburger explained for Live Action News when the bill was passed.

On Thursday, however, U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III sided with Planned Parenthood Southeast and Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis in their lawsuit, claiming that the Mississippi law violates federal law. In its report on the ruling, Reuters referred to the nation’s largest abortion provider as a “women’s health provider.” A new Live Action investigative video exposes the facts behind abortion and women’s health services at Planned Parenthood:

Debunking Planned Parenthood's "3%" Abortion Myth

Governor Bryant expressed disappointment about the ruling on Facebook:

I’m sorry to report that a federal judge has blocked a law that would have prevented your tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. I believe the law was the right thing to do and I will continue to stand with the Legislature and people of Mississippi who do not want their hard-earned money going to the largest abortion provider in the nation.

Planned Parenthood lauded the ruling, noting that “the court protected Planned Parenthood patients’ access to birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, and other preventive care.” Planned Parenthood continued: “The ruling sided with the people who rely on Planned Parenthood for basic care every day.” Such sentiments were reflected by Staci Fox, Planned Parenthood Southeast President and CEO, in her statement:

Everyone deserves access to high-quality health care, no matter who you are or where you live. While legislators play politics with women’s health, we will continue to stand by Mississippi women and families who depend on our services for birth control, cancer screenings, STD tests and other lifesaving care.

Ashley B. Coffield, Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region President and CEO, noted that “[t]he courts just confirmed that no politician can tell Mississippians where they can or cannot go for care. We will continue to fight for our patient’s [sic] right to access health care at the provider of their choice.”

Despite abortion making up a considerable part of Planned Parenthood’s services, the abortion chain downplays this and focuses on the other services they provide, such as cancer screenings. However, the truth, is that Planned Parenthood performs just 0.97 percent (less than 1 percent) of Pap smears and 1.8 percent of clinical breast exams, which are not mammograms. (Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms.) These legitimate services have decreased while taxpayer funding and abortion have increased, according to Planned Parenthood’s own annual reports.