Bobby Jindal has had a long feud with Planned Parenthood in Louisiana, but his latest attempt to defend the group has hit a problem – it’s illegal.
In a legal brief for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice made it clear that cutting Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding violates obligations that Louisiana has to Medicaid law, according to Buzzfeed.
Since the release of secretly recorded videos that paint Planned Parenthood in a negative light, Jindal has been vocal in his opposition to the group in Louisiana.
The DOJ stated that “Louisiana has not proffered sufficient reasons to terminate Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Inc.;” without sufficient reasons, Louisiana would violate its obligations under Medicaid’s “free choice of provider” provision.
If Jindal pushed through a defunding program, it would violate the freedom of choice for Louisianans on Medicaid to choose their healthcare provider. Jindal’s plan “is inconsistent with the plain language of the statute and the overwhelming weight of authority,” the department stated.
Planned Parenthood only operates two clinics in Louisiana, and they “do not provide abortion services or participate in fetal tissue donation programs,”Buzzfeed noted.
Defunding Planned Parenthood is not as simple as Republican politicians and lawmakers have made it sound. The range of services the organization provides complicates matters, and federal involvement in health care holds states liable to respect federal law.
