Missouri’s GOP lawmakers vote to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid

By SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature has passed a bill to ban Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood. The GOP-controlled House on Wednesday voted 106-48 to send the proposal to Republican Gov. Mike Parson. Parson’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment Wednesday. But he is expected to sign the bill. Republicans have tried for years to block Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri. Defunding efforts have been thwarted in the courts. Abortions are not covered by Medicaid, and almost all abortions are illegal in Missouri. But abortion opponents say Planned Parenthood should not receive any public funding because clinics in other states provide abortions.