Gov. Bentley Cuts State Funding to Planned Parenthood
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is cutting off state Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood in the face of undercover videos that implied the group was selling fetal tissue to research groups.
In a statement Thursday, Bentley calls Planned Parenthood’s practices “deplorable.” He says he doesn’t want Alabama to be associated with the group. “I respect human life, and I do not want Alabama to be associated with an organization that does not,” said Gov. Bentley.
A letter from Bentley says the state is terminating an agreement with Planned Parenthood Southeast to serve as a Medicaid provider.
State money to Planned Parenthood has gone to birth control for low-income women, but the exact amount wasn’t immediately clear.
The Alabama Medicaid Agency says Planned Parenthood has provided women on Medicaid with contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control shots.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced a similar decision this week.
