HHS takes millions in funding from Tennessee, gives to Planned Parenthood instead

Millions of dollars in federal aid originally earmarked for the state of Tennessee has been sent to Planned Parenthood instead. 

In April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it was withholding millions in Title X grants because the state would not require physicians to refer patients for abortions that are illegal in the state. Now, the roughly $8 million that would have gone to the state health department is being funneled to Planned Parenthood. 

“The federal government is denying Tennessee funding that has supported critical maternal and family care for thousands of Tennesseans for decades,” Jade Byers, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee, told Live Action News in April when the HHS decision was announced. “As we discuss next steps with the Attorney General’s office, Governor Lee will fulfill his commitment to serving families by proposing to amend the state budget to include state dollars to fill the void caused by the federal government’s decision.”

In that vein, Lee did propose a budget amendment of $7.5 million in recurring funding, and an extra $1.8 million in non-recurring funding, to make up for loss funding in the current fiscal year. He expressed his displeasure with the news that the federal money would now head to Planned Parenthood.

“The federal government decided to cut those funds off to Tennessee and what that did was it left women and children at risk that we wanted to serve,” Lee said Tuesday.

According to Commercial Appeal, under the deal, $3.9 million will be sent to the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, which will funnel the money to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi (PPTNM). Another $3.9 million will go to Converge, Inc. a reproductive health organization out of Mississippi that will also direct the money to Planned Parenthood. 

Ashley Colfield, the president and CEO of PPTNM, praised the money’s reassignment. 

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“Our governor jeopardized access to birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screenings when he refused to comply with Title X requirements for unbiased patient information,” she said. “Direct grantees in Virginia and Mississippi will use these funds to ensure there are services in Tennessee and we look forward to working with Virginia League for Planned Parenthood as a subgrantee.”

Though Planned Parenthood often frames itself as a necessary provider of women’s health services, the statistics show otherwise. For years, the abortion corporation claimed that abortion only makes up about 3-4% of its annual services, though that claim has been debunked. Planned Parenthood commits around 40% of all abortions in the United States. Meanwhile, data from the organization’s 2021-2022 annual report shows that the number of cancer screenings the organization has provided has dropped over 78% since 2004, and preventative care visits have dropped 20% since 2016 – clearly, women with actual healthcare needs are not heading to Planned Parenthood for these services. 

Lee blasted the government’s move on X.

Gov. Bill Lee

@GovBillLee

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The federal government withheld critical funding from TN families, so they could funnel taxpayer dollars to a radical political organization. Some things should simply rise above politics—especially resources that TN mothers, children & families have counted on for decades.

2:57 PM · Sep 27, 2023

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“The federal government withheld critical funding from TN families, so they could funnel taxpayer dollars to a radical political organization,” he said. “Some things should simply rise above politics—especially resources that TN mothers, children & families have counted on for decades.”