Gov. Murphy Defies Trump, Spends $9.5M For Planned Parenthood

NEW JERSEY – Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law Thursday that will spend $9.5 million on health care in New Jersey – including abortion services – that the Trump administration refused to pay for.

The funding defies the Trump administration's decision last year to bar clinics that provide or refer patients for abortions and other health services from getting federal money under Title X.

The new New Jersey law will replace federal funding for family planning services that are impacted by the Trump Administration’s implementation of the Title X "gag rule," which limits access to health care and family planning resources.

President Trump's “gag rule” bars Planned Parenthood and anyone who provides abortions or referrals from receiving funding.

“The federal government’s Title X gag rule jeopardizes access to critical health care services such as cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease testing, affordable birth control, and more for approximately 4 million patients served across the country,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “Ensuring access to comprehensive family planning services is critical and this necessary legislation will lead to better health outcomes for New Jersey’s women and children.”

Not everybody was pleased with the move. Republican Assemblyman Hal Wirths, R-Sussex, called it "immoral and fiscally irresponsible to grant money to an organization that turned down federal funding."

Planned Parenthood applauded the move, saying A5802 will provide $9.5 million in state funding to providers who were forced out of federal Title X family planning program because of the "medically unethical gag rule."

“We thank (New Jersey) for taking action to protect New Jersey patients who have been impacted by the Trump-Pence gag rule,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.

In New Jersey, Planned Parenthood provides care to 70 percent of Title X patients in the state. Without this state support, providers such as Planned Parenthood cannot continue to offer the same level of services, according to a release from the organization.

Planned Parenthood currently is operating on emergency funds, the release said. However, the organization says it cannot continue to do so indefinitely.

“We cannot allow even one New Jerseyan to be denied care because of the Trump-Pence gag rule,” said Wojtowicz. “Patients must be able to continue to access the reproductive health care services they need and deserve."

New Jersey also has felt the sting of cuts to family planning providers, the release said.

When funding was eliminated from the state budget while Gov. Chris Christie was in office, sexually transmitted disease rates skyrocketed in the state as health centers cut hours, staff and services or closed their doors altogether, the release said.

“We cannot let the Trump-Pence administration to continue to play politics with New Jerseyans’ health,” she said.

In February 2018, Murphy signed his first piece of legislation that restored $7.45 million in funding to Planned Parenthood and other women’s health facilities that had been cut during the Christie administration

Murphy also signed legislation (S105/A1656) providing Medicaid coverage for family planning services to low-income individuals. With the signing of this legislation, the New Jersey Department of Human Services created a new family planning benefit program for women and men with incomes that are higher than traditional Medicaid eligibility.

The benefit, called Plan First, launched in October 2019, and provides coverage for birth control, the HPV vaccine, family planning-related lab testing, and other targeted family planning-related health care needs.