WLBT-TV Jackson
Sen. Hyde-Smith: I can’t support policies that force Mississippians to fund Planned Parenthood
By Josh Carter
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - In a statement Thursday, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R, Miss.) stated that she cannot support any policies that force Mississippians to fund abortion providers like Panned Parenthood.
This after the Biden administration announced a rollback Wednesday that would allow more abortion clinics to access programs which provide free or low-cost contraception to millions more low-income Americans.
The previous rules implemented by the Trump administration in 2019 forbid any entity who provides or refers individuals for abortions from receiving any federal funding through Title X to cover services like contraceptives and STD screenings.
Hyde-Smith opposes this effort to open Title X federal funding to abortion providers, saying, “the assault on the lives of unborn children and women’s health resources is underway...”
She also said that “it is not too late” for President Biden to reconsider these “terrible pro-abortion policies.”
Hyde-Smith is among a long list of lawmakers who signed an April 13 letter pleading with Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra not to overturn the Protect Life Rule, which would prevent the use of Title X funds to finance abortion services.
As reported by NPR, though, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson welcomed Biden’s policy reversal, saying that Trump’s move “decimate[d] access to affordable reproductive health care...” adding that is also decreased their program’s healthcare provider network.