Mississippi Senate votes to defund Planned Parenthood

On Wednesday, the Mississippi Senate voted to pass SB 2238, which would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any money through the state Medicaid program.

The amount of money at stake is relatively small — Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood have totaled less than $1,000 per year for the past five years — and the organization’s sole Mississippi location refers women for abortions but does not perform them on-site. But proponents of the bill maintain the principle at stake still warrants action.

“You are the company you keep and by Mississippi reimbursing Planned Parenthood through Medicaid, we are keeping that company,” GOP state Senator and Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Brice Wiggins said, referencing the abortion giant’s controversial fetal organ harvesting practices caught on tape by the Center for Medical Progress.

He also dismissed abortion defenders’ claims that the Texas indictment of CMP’s David Daleiden defused the controversy, declaring it “didn’t change what Planned Parenthood did.” As Live Action News has covered, the indictment has not debunked the content of CMP’s videos, and there are substantial questions about the impartiality of the prosecutor on abortion-related cases.

Americans United for Life ranks Mississippi the fifth most pro-life state in the country.