Arizona budget could end Planned Parenthood funding
Mary Jo Pitzl
A provision tucked into the Arizona state budget proposal takes advantage of a law President Donald Trump signed last month that could end funding to Planned Parenthood in Arizona.
The health-related budget bill would require the state to apply for a federal grant for family-planning services. If the state was successful, the Arizona Department of Health Services would distribute the money to various agencies — but not to Planned Parenthood.
That's because the Legislature in 2012 passed a law that forbids the state from giving grant money to agencies that provide abortion services.
Although Planned Parenthood does provide abortions, it does not do so using state dollars.
The $5 million in federal family-planning funds currently are distributed by the non-profit Arizona Family Health Partnership. But the law Trump signed allows states to withhold dollars from agencies that provide abortion services, which is why the state is now interested in getting control of the money.
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Democrats and family-planning advocates were aghast Wednesday.
Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, said Arizona's rate of teen pregnancies has gone down in recent years, a sign that the current system works well.
Giving the state control over the dollars, she said, "would set this work back 40 years."
Tayler Tucker of Planned Parenthood of Arizona said if her agency is cut out of future grant funding, family planning in rural areas will suffer.
"You won't get as comprehensive of care," said Tucker, the group's communications specialist. “We are birth-control experts and have been providing services for years.”
Leaders of the influential Arizona Center for Public Policy hailed the law Trump signed, saying they hoped it would lead to the administration of Gov. Doug Ducey directing grant dollars to health clinics that do not provide abortions.
Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, voted with his Republican colleagues in supporting the budget bill, Senate Bill 1527.
The move makes the grant-allocation process more transparent because the state, not a private entity, would control where the dollars go, he said.
Final passage of the budget with the provision could happen Thursday.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepubli.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl
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