South Carolina Governor Vetoes Funding for Planned Parenthood Abortion Business

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jul 6, 2018   |   3:45PM   |   Columbia, SC

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster took a bold stance against the abortion industry Friday when he vetoed a health care bill that included tax dollars for Planned Parenthood.

“Taxpayer dollars must not directly or indirectly subsidize abortion providers like Planned Parenthood,” McMaster said Friday when he announced his veto. “There are a variety of agencies, clinics and medical entities in South Carolina that receive taxpayer funding (that) offer important women’s health and family-planning services without performing abortions.”

The State reports McMaster vowed to continue his opposition to the $16 million health care funding bill until the abortion giant Planned Parenthood is completely defunded.

The Republican governor and legislature have cut various streams of funding to the abortion chain, but Planned Parenthoods in the state still received $82,000 in Medicaid funds in 2017, according to the report.

The AP reports McMaster’s veto was controversial even among Republicans.

According to the report:

Other Republicans urged McMaster, who is running for re-election this year, to veto $34 million from the $8 billion budget. But the governor’s office said eliminating all that money would keep 700,000 women and children from getting prescriptions through Medicaid.

Some Republicans opposed removing any of the money, saying it was almost all for family planning and abstinence. They also warned that filling the funding hole created by the veto might hurt law enforcement or children with autism.

Last year, McMaster instructed the state Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver from the federal government to defund abortion groups of Medicaid dollars. That waver has not yet been granted, but McMaster said he will not back down.

In May, he described Planned Parenthood as a “blemish on the great character of the people of South Carolina and this country.”

“They need to stop doing that. I’m going to do all I can do to see they get no taxpayer money. I can accomplish that. And I will, along with President Trump.”

In 2017, he also directed state agencies to stop giving funds to or contracting with groups that provide abortions. A state report of detailing funding between 2011 and 2017 found Planned Parenthood received at least $312,000 from the state Department of Health and Human Services and the South Carolina Public Employment Benefit Authority.

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion business in America, aborting approximately 320,000 unborn babies every year. Its most recent annual report showed a record income of $1.46 billion, with about half a billion dollars coming from taxpayers. At the federal level, President Donald Trump and his administration also have been cutting off various streams of funding to abortion groups.

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice said it is investigating whether the abortion chain illegally sold aborted baby body parts.