South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster on Friday cut off all state and local funding to the state’s three abortion clinics, according to a report.
McMaster not only cut off all funding but also called for the state’s Medicaid agency to ask the federal government to exclude abortion clinics from its Medicaid provider network, according to the Post and Courier. It was not immediately clear how much money that involved.
One of the three abortion clinics is a Planned Parenthood clinic. Several states have tried to block Medicaid funding to the women’s health and abortion provider, but some have been blocked by court orders.
While a judge has blocked a Texas law to defund Planned Parenthood, a federal appeals court ruled this month that Arkansas can block Medicaid funding to the organization.
Planned Parenthood gets roughly $500 million a year in federal funds from Congress, and Republican efforts in Congress to defund the organization have faltered. It is illegal to use federal funds to perform abortions; the federal funding instead goes toward other services such as cancer screenings.
McMaster’s opponent in next year’s gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, called for defunding Planned Parenthood a few months ago, the Post and Courier said.
