Three pro-abortion Democrat governors’ loyalty to the abortion industry could threaten health care access for tens of thousands of low income individuals in their states.
On Monday, Govs. Kate Brown of Oregon, Jay Inslee of Washington state and David Ige of Hawaii said they will completely reject Title X family planning funds from the federal government if President Donald Trump moves forward with a new life-affirming program rule, Politico reports.
The “Protect Life Rule” rule would ensure no Title X funds are being used to support the killing of unborn babies. If enacted, the rule would defund Planned Parenthood of about $60 million annually or require it to completely separate its abortion business from its taxpayer-funded services. The abortion chain already has said it will not comply.
Brown slammed the rule as “unethical” and “ineffective” Monday in a statement.
“If the Trump gag rule is adopted and legal challenges are unsuccessful, it would leave me no choice but to act in the best interests of the citizens of Oregon and our state law, and withdraw our state’s participation from an unethical, ineffective Title X program that reduces access to essential preventive health services,” Brown said.
But Lois Anderson, executive director of Oregon Right to Life, said Brown is more loyal to the abortion industry than to the people of her state.
“She continues to show she is not a friend to Oregonians, but to Planned Parenthood of Oregon,” Anderson said. “In a bizarre political stunt, she is threatening the healthcare access of over 50,000 Oregonians, 95% of whom are 250% below the federal poverty line.”
Anderson questioned where Brown would find the money to continue providing family planning services if she rejects Title X.
“Oregon’s government is facing a tremendous fiscal crisis,” Anderson said. “In just the next two-year budget cycle, the deficit is expected to be between $500 million and $1.1 billion. Where does Gov. Brown expect to make up the difference when she turns down federal help for at-risk Oregonians?”
All three Democrat governors described the proposed rule as “unethical” because it would restrict funding to abortion groups, including Planned Parenthood.
“We would be left with no choice but to refuse to participate in an unethical Title X program,” Inslee said in a statement Monday.
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“Hawai‘i will not accept federal funds for these programs if the proposed rules are implemented,” Ige said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also blasted the proposed rule in a statement but “did not explicitly vow to pull his state out,” according to Politico. Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf criticized the life-affirming proposal as well during a press conference with Planned Parenthood.
The United States spends about $260 million in Title X funds annually for family planning for low-income individuals, and Planned Parenthood is a huge recipient of those funds — as much as $50-$60 million annually.
The proposed Title X rule is not a “gag rule,” as abortion activists claim. It simply ensures that tax dollars are not being used to directly or indirectly fund the killing of unborn babies.
The proposed rule contains three important parts. The first prohibits recipients of taxpayer funds under Title X from referring women for abortions. The second requires abortion groups that receive funds to maintain completely separate facilities that do abortions. Because that is something Planned Parenthood refuses to do, it will no longer be eligible for Title X taxpayer funding.
The final section of the rule requires recipients of Title X dollars to ensure that they follow all state and local laws requiring reporting of child abuse. Interestingly, the Planned Parenthood abortion company repeatedly has run afoul of such laws by refusing to report cases of child abuse or rape to law enforcement officials after killing the babies of young teenage girls in abortions.
It is modeled after similar Reagan administration rules that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in Rust v. Sullivan in 1991.
The rule has not gone into effect yet. The government is accepting public comments through July 31.
