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Governor Charlie Baker is promising that the state will make up for any federal funding cuts to Planned Parenthood. Administrative officials told WBUR that the five Planned Parenthood clinics in Massachusetts could lose an estimated $2 million a year if Congressional Republicans are able to successfully block Medicaid reimbursements to such clinics.
Baker strongly supports women’s health and believes the state has a responsibility to guarantee access to services provided by Planned Parenthood. “And the administration is prepared to fund these services should the federal government pursue changes that would block care for women and families in Massachusetts,” said Elizabeth Guyton, a spokeswoman for Baker in an emailed statement.
Although Gov. Baker is a moderate conservative, he is pro-abortion rights and has supported Planned Parenthood in the past. This position has put him at odds with more conservative members of his party in Washington.
Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, President and Chief Executive for Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts, thanked Baker in a statement for committing to protect women served by the clinics.
“Yet no governor should be put in a position of trying to mitigate attacks on women in his or her state made by Congress,” she added.
Republican leaders in Washington want to block funding for the clinics because they provide abortions, even though Medicaid dollars are currently prohibited from being used for abortions. According to NPR, Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood clinics “pay for direct medical services provided to low-income patients, including contraception, cancer screenings and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment.”
According to WHDH, Democrat Jay Gonzalez, a former state budget director who recently announced plans to run for governor in 2018, said he “applauded” Baker’s commitment to closing any funding gap for Planned Parenthood. Gonzalez is also urging him to go further by guaranteeing that women would not face co-payments for birth control and to pledge to only nominate judges to the state’s highest court who were on record as supporting abortion rights.