It’s unclear EXACTLY how House Republicans intend to go about “defunding” Planned Parenthood. Republicans on a House subcommittee last (Thursday) night set aside three MILLION dollars in state money to pay for contraceptives, exams and other reproductive health services for Medicaid patients in Iowa, but there’s no language in the bill specifying which clinics qualify. The intention, though, is to prevent any of that money from being spent at health facilities where abortions are performed.

Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell of Ames admits since she and other Democrats are a minority in the legislature, they do not have the votes to stop this. “But we can let Iowans know what’s happening and I think that’s probably the most important thing we can do today,” she says.

A key Republican in the House says the details of the G-O-P’s plan may be released sometime today (Friday). Wessel-Kroeschel says the bottom line is the state is giving up matching federal dollars for the Medicaid program, while the G-O-P’s budget plan reduces the Iowa Department of Public Health’s budget by 10 percent. “This could put us at a public health risk,” she says. “It is absolutely unconscionable that you leave $3 million on the table when you are doing those kinds of cuts.”

The Republican-led Iowa SENATE passed a bill back on February 2nd that would deny state tax dollars to facilities that perform elective abortions. Legislators are rushing to craft the final details of a OVERALL spending plan for the state budgeting year that begins July 1st. Lawmakers hope to wrap up the 2018 legislative session next week.

(Radio Iowa)