The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill Monday to give an additional $9.5 million to Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups in the state.
Insider NJ reports lawmakers approved the pro-abortion funding bill in a 49-21 vote. The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, described the bill as a “shameful funding scheme” to back up Planned Parenthood’s life-destroying abortion practices.
Pro-abortion lawmakers in the state already have $7.5 million budgeted for the abortion chain, but some pro-abortion Democrats want to do even more. The bill would force state taxpayers to give an additional $9.5 million almost exclusively to Planned Parenthood.
Lawmakers introduced the bill after the New Jersey Planned Parenthood affiliates and several other state abortion facilities rejected $8.8 million in Title X grants because of a new Trump administration rule. That rule requires abortion facilities to either stop aborting unborn babies or to completely separate their abortion businesses from their health services.
Assembly Democrat Joann Downey, a sponsor of the funding bill, defended the move as support for women’s health care.
“Planned Parenthood chose to prioritize the needs of women in refusing to abide by this immoral gag rule, but it will also mean access to healthcare for thousands of women in New Jersey will be significantly diminished,” Downey argued.
Despite her claims, Planned Parenthood chose to prioritize abortions, not health care, when it refused to comply with the Title X rule. It is the largest abortion provider in America. Its annual report showed more than 330,000 abortions in 2018 and a record $1.66 billion in revenue.
The Trump administration rule also does not “gag” anything. It simply prevents tax dollars from being used to promote or provide abortions.
Here’s more from New Jersey 101.5:
“With so many budget issues in New Jersey and so many health-care options with federally qualified health care centers, why must the largest, richest, wealthiest abortion provider in the world get a raise?” said Shawn Hyland, director of advocacy for the Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey.
Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, said Planned Parenthood already receives the bulk of the $10.5 million New Jersey gives family planning providers.
“The taxpayers of New Jersey should not be forced to fund abortion. And make no mistake, this is what this legislation will do,” Tasy said.
New Jersey is challenging the Title X rule in a lawsuit with 19 other states. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently allowed the Trump administration to enforce the rule.
Most Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, and New Jersey Right to Life noted that state lawmakers did not seek input or approval from the public on the new funding bill.
Tasy told NJ Advance Media in August that Planned Parenthood’s refusal of the Title X funds to provide low-income individuals with health care “demonstrates how committed they are to their abortion business.”
“All money is fungible,” Tasy said. “The funds they were getting were clearly being used to pay administrative expenses, salaries, electricity that their abortion business needed to be able to operate.”
The state legislature is controlled by Democrats, and Gov. Phil Murphy is pro-abortion.
Prior to Murphy, Republican Gov. Chris Christie defunded Planned Parenthood in the state budget. Several years ago, the abortion group was found engaging in fraudulent Medicaid activity in New Jersey.
The U.S. Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services uncovered a consistent problem with New Jersey-based family planning clinics run by the Planned Parenthood abortion business. A government audit found that they were improperly billing Medicaid for services that did not qualify as family planning.
An initial audit revealed New Jersey improperly received federal reimbursement at the enhanced 90 percent rate for 160,955 prescription drug claims that were billed as family planning, but did not qualify as family planning services. A letter from the Inspector General to New Jersey officials recommended that New Jersey repay $2,219,746 to the federal government.
The state eventually did return the money to the federal government.
ACTION: Tell New Jersey state lawmakers to vote no on S4103/A5802.
