Congress teed up another small victory for Trump, putting a bill on his desk that he then signed that allows states to choose how to spend Title X money, which means they no longer are forced to give it to Planned Parenthood as they were under the Obama administration:
FOX BUSINESS – President Donald Trump signed a bill Thursday undoing an Obama-era regulation that prohibited states from withholding money from Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health clinics.
By undoing the law, the White House will allow states freedom to allocate funds to the health programs of their preference; in the case of some red states that will likely mean less funds for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
“H.J. Res 43 voids a regulation that forces states to use Title X money to fund Planned Parenthood. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortion, plain and simple,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement Thursday.
The federal government provided 43 percent, or more than $550 million, of Planned Parenthood’s funds during 2014-2015, according to the group’s most recent annual report Opens a New Window. .
The Trump administration’s resolution, which Speaker Ryan called “a major pro-life victory,” is considered part of a larger Republican-led effort to defund Planned Parenthood. The American Health Care Act called for partially slashing funds dedicated to the group, which is criticized by opponents for providing abortion services.
President Obama’s law intended to protect funding for reproductive health centers, like Planned Parenthood, through Title X—the only federal grant program dedicated to providing family planning and preventive health services. When President Obama signed the Title X Family Planning bill in January, 13 states had already taken action to defund Planned Parenthood, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s nice to see Congress working to defund Planned Parenthood wherever they can. As Ryan says, taxpayers should never be forced to fund abortion and I’m glad Trump agrees.
I just hope when the time comes to actually defund Planned Parenthood, that Trump doesn’t go all centrist and weak-kneed on us as the proverbial poop starts hitting the fan.