(The Center Square) – Michigan Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, are expressing their ire at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s attempt to expand family planning access – and further annoyed she and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel won’t divulge if those services will include abortions.
Whitmer, a Democrat, and the Health Department said this week they are seeking up to $50 million more from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. If approved, an additional 25,000 state households with two people earning 200% above the poverty line ($36,620) would qualify for free or low-cost family planning services up to $2,000. The 2022 federal poverty line for a two-person household is $18,320.
Neither the incumbent governor nor Hertel responded to requests from The Center Square for clarification as to whether abortion would be included in the expanded Plan First program. However, a news release listed contraception, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and infections, and cancer screenings among the services provided.
Dixon is Whitmer’s Republican opponent in the governor’s reelection campaign. Dixon is staunchly anti-abortion whereas Whitmer has declared she will “fight like hell” to ensure abortion remains legal in the state.
“Once again, Gretchen Whitmer is not being honest about her plans,” Dixon told The Center Square. “Why hide where the money is going? The Michigan people deserve to know what their taxpayer dollars are being used for. If she was actually concerned about increasing services to all Michigan women, she wouldn’t have vetoed funding to provide increased access to OB/GYN services in rural areas of the state, paid family leave for parents adopting children, assistance for human trafficking survivors, or reunification efforts for children in the foster care system.”
Abortion is a hot-button topic in Michigan’s 2022 election season after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The ruling triggered a 1931 law outlawing abortion in the state, but that law has been in legal limbo since last May. In November, Michigan voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution with Proposal 3.
Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, took issue with the request by the governor and health director to expand Plan First to two-person households earning less than $36,620.
“It seems strange to ask for a 200% increase over the poverty line for 25,000 people. By definition – over the poverty line – means taxpayers are paying for things the people receiving the services in question can afford already,” Johnson told The Center Square.
Johnson added Whitmer receives ample campaign funding support from pro-abortion advocates Planned Parenthood and Emily’s List. Emily’s List has contributed $1.31 million to Whitmer’s campaigns since 2011, and contributed $65,000 this election season; Planned Parenthood contributed $29,000 to Whitmer’s 2022 war chest.
“From what I’ve seen, the bulk of the money from taxpayers for so-called family planning services is funneled to Planned Parenthood,” Johnson said.
While remaining silent on whether the expanded services include abortion, Whitmer released a second news release on Tuesday in which she may have tipped her hand that abortion services will be provided.
“All women and families should have the resources they need to decide when and if they want to start a family, and I have been fighting like hell to ensure that the choice is theirs. I am committed to protecting and expanding access to reproductive health care, all while lowering costs for Michiganders,” she said.
