Maryland took a big step this week, as it was the first state to pass a law that vows to continue funding Planned Parenthood at the state level should the organization’s funding get cut at the federal level. That hasn’t come to pass yet, but it’s all the GOP can talk about lately and with a budget vote coming up in the near future PP’s time of receiving federal funding could be coming to an end all too soon. Recently, Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in the repeal of an Obama-era law preventing states from defunding clinics that also provided abortion services. Which, of course, directly impacts Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood doesn’t actually use any federal funding to pay for their abortion services, which is the service that the GOP has the most issues with (as has been well documented), but rather to test for STI’s, family planning, cancer screenings, and other standard clinic services. This new Maryland law, which doesn’t go into effect until July 1, will allocate $3 million towards the seven Planned Parenthood clinics in the state — with the money mostly coming from the current Medicaid budget.
(via Vice News)