Sen. Cruz Hails Planned Parenthood Defunding in Texas, Sets Sights on Nation

Brittany M. Hughes | October 19, 2015
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Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund speaks at a Planned Parenthood news conference on abortion legislation at Dallas City Hall on July 10, 2013. (Photo Credit: Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) praised his home state of Texas Monday for halting the flow of Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood clinics across the state.

In the latest in a series of state-led battles against the abortion giant, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates in the Lone Star State informing them they were no longer eligible to participate in the state’s Medicaid program.

Here’s a snippet from the letter itself:

We have begun terminating your enrollment because, based on the evidence outlined below, you are liable, directly or by affiliation, for a series of serious Medicaid program violations. The State has determined that you and your Planned Parenthood affiliates are no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal and ethical manner.

The letter also alleges cases of Medicaid fraud and “illegal billing practices” by the Texas-based affiliates of Planned Parenthood.

To top it all off, Texas officials don’t seem to be buying Planned Parenthood’s oft-repeated claim that shutting down their local offices will prevent millions of poor women from accessing health care. From the OIG’s letter:

 

Your termination and that of all your affiliates will not affect access to care in this State because there are thousands of alternate providers in Texas, including federally qualified health centers, Medicaid-certified rural health clinics, and other health care providers across the State that participate in the Texas Women’s Health Program and Medicaid. Our women’s health programs, mostly State-funded since 20013, have increased overall funding for women’s health services and access to these services for women across the State.

Cruz hailed the state’s decision while simultaneously calling for Planned Parenthood to be defunded at the national level after recent videos were published by the Center for Medical Progress allegedly showing Planned Parenthood officials engaged in the illegal sale of fetal tissue harvested from aborted babies.

Via a press release issued by Cruz's office Monday:

Today, my home state of Texas proved that states can make a real difference in the fight to block taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. I’m proud of Texas for leading the way in affirming the sanctity of life, and I thank Gov. Abbott for his principled commitment to protecting the lives of unborn children. I encourage every state to follow Texas’ lead in stopping taxpayer funds from going to Planned Parenthood, and I will continue to lead the fight in the United States Senate to defund Planned Parenthood at the federal level.

The horrifying videos released this summer revealed the grim reality of Planned Parenthood’s barbaric actions. For far too long, Planned Parenthood has hidden behind the guise that it provides women’s healthcare. The truth is: there are real alternatives to Planned Parenthood that offer high-quality, affordable women’s health care. For every one Planned Parenthood in Texas, there are 19 community health care providers. Today’s decision means that women will have access to healthcare that’s no longer burdened with the moral and ethical issues of Planned Parenthood, an organization under criminal investigation.

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