Arkansas, Utah Target Planned Parenthood Funding
By Sarah Ferris. Arkansas and Utah are the latest states to target funding for Planned Parenthood, making five states in total trying to restrict money from the women’s health group.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is moving ahead with plans to strip state funding from Planned Parenthood, defying a federal warning earlier this week that doing so could be against the law.
Hutchinson announced Friday that he has ordered the state’s health department to end Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood over concerns about the organization’s fetal tissue program.
“It is apparent that after the recent revelations on the actions of Planned Parenthood, that this organization does not represent the values of the people of our state and Arkansas is better served by terminating any and all existing contracts with them,” Hutchinson wrote in a statement first reported by The Associated Press.
The move defies the Obama administration’s warning earlier this week, arguing that states cannot restrict Medicaid providers. (Read more from “Arkansas, Utah Target Planned Parenthood Funding” HERE)
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Otter Declines to Order Investigation of Planned Parenthood
By Kimberlee Kruesi. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said he will not launch an investigation into Planned Parenthood facilities in Idaho despite receiving a request from nearly 30 Republican state lawmakers.
In an Aug. 6 letter, Otter, also a Republican, said there are no grounds for a legal investigation because there is no evidence Planned Parenthood has violated any state or federal laws in Idaho.
Planned Parenthood has come under scrutiny after anti-abortion activists released undercover videos that raised questions about whether the national organization was profiting from the sale of fetal tissue— an accusation the group denies.
“I have been in contact with Planned Parenthood officials here in Idaho and they assured me that these practices do not occur in Idaho or within the states that make up Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest,” Otter wrote.
However, his letter also challenged Planned Parenthood to reassure Idahoans that such activities do not occur in the state. (Read more from this story HERE)
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