All but one Democrat in the Iowa Senate have voted to block a bid by Republican legislators to “defund” Planned Parenthood. Under current law, Medicaid patients in Iowa can go to Planned Parenthood for contraceptives or reproductive health exams. Early last week House Republicans voted to ban all state tax dollars from being spent at Planned Parenthood, proposing instead that Medicaid patients go to more than 200 “federally-qualified health care providers for family planning servies.

 

That’s Republican Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton, an advocate of the House G-O-P’s plan. No state tax dollars are being spent on abortion services at Planned Parenthood, but Republican Senator Ken Rozenboom (ROH-zen-boom) of Oskaloosa says many Iowans “strenuously object” to sending ANY tax dollars to the organization.

 

Senator Amanda Ragan (RAY-gun), a Democrat from Mason City, spoke out against the G-O-P effort to “defund” Planned Parenthood.

 

Ragan says. Ragan acknowledged the “passion” this debate has generated.

 

At the conclusion of debate, 25 Democratic senators voted to stick with the status quo and allow state funding of NON-abortion services at Planned Parenthood. All 24 Republicans, plus Democratic Senator Joe Seng (sing) of Davenport voted to bar all tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood officials say about 30-thousand Iowa Medicaid patients get NON-abortion services at Planned Parenthood each year. The State of Iowa pays 10 percent of those bills. The federal government covers the rest.