Louisiana House Supports Planned Parenthood Defunding Bill

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An effort to strip Medicaid financing from Planned Parenthood if the organization starts performing abortions at its New Orleans clinic has won the backing of the Louisiana House.

Federal health officials have warned such efforts may violate the law, but that hasn't slowed support for the legislation, which is supported by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The House voted 85-7 Wednesday for the measure by Rep. Frank Hoffmann, a Republican who chairs the House health committee.

The bill would ban public funding in Louisiana for entities that perform abortions. Planned Parenthood has indicated it wants to offer abortions at its new clinic under construction in New Orleans.

A federal judge has blocked previous Louisiana efforts to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.

Hoffmann's bill moves to the Senate.

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