South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (shown) issued an executive order August 25 directing state agencies to cut off all funding to abortion clinics in the state. The order directs the agencies to cease providing both state and federal dollars via grants, contracts, state-administered federal funds, or “any other form,” to all clinics performing the murderous procedure.
Additionally, McMaster directed South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services to seek waivers from the federal government allowing the state to exclude abortion clinics from its Medicaid provider network.
“There are a variety of agencies, clinics, and medical entities in South Carolina that receive taxpayer funding to offer important women’s health and family planning services without performing abortions,” Gov. McMaster said in a statement. “Taxpayer dollars must not directly or indirectly subsidize abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”
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Charleston, South Carolina’s Post and Courier newspaper reported that three clinics in the state “offer elective abortions in South Carolina, but only one of them is a Planned Parenthood clinic, in Columbia.” The newspaper added that “federal law already prohibits Medicaid money from being used to pay for abortions, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.”
Planned Parenthood responded to the directive with postured outrage. “Today’s executive order issued by Governor McMaster hurts South Carolinians in the name of politics,” said Jenny Black, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which administers the abortion giant’s South Carolina franchise. “While he throws women under the bus to score political points, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will continue to focus on providing the wide-range of accessible, affordable health care services that our patients, and his constituents, rely on. We will not stop fighting to protect our patients’ access to health care.”
Similarly, Ann Warner of Columbia, South Carolina’s Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network issued a statement declaring that “we cannot sit quietly and allow this to happen. We need to speak out. We need to look beyond political debates and remember that real people in our communities are going to get hurt if this executive order is allowed to stand.”
On the pro-life side, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List thanked Gov. McMaster “for acting to ensure taxpayers fund comprehensive primary and preventative care for women and families, not abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood.”
Photo of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster: AP Images
