Missouri Senate tries again to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood

By SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The GOP-led Missouri Senate has passed a stopgap budget that attempts to strip funding for Planned Parenthood while paying for Medicaid health care for newly eligible patients. Senators on Wednesday voted 25-7 to pass the legislation. Because senators amended the plan, it needs another vote of approval in the House to go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. The budget plan also includes enough money to pay for the thousands more low-income adults who recently became eligible for Medicaid thanks to a voter-approved constitutional amendment. And it funnels billions of dollars in federal funding to Missouri schools.