AUSTIN, Texas — Officials in Texas have decided to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, declaring that the state is pulling its Medicaid funding out of belief that the organization is “no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner.”

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent a letter to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast on Monday, providing the entity with a notice of termination.

“[T]here is reliable information indicating a pattern of illegal billing practices by Planned Parenthood affiliates, including you, across the state,” the letter reads. “Our prima facie case of fraud is supported by related cases involving fraudulent practices identified by whistleblowers from inside the Texas Planned Parenthood network.”

It points to two federal lawsuits that had been settled for millions after whistleblowers came forward about false Medicaid claims that had been filed.

Without specifically mentioning the Center for Medical Progress, the Commission also references undercover video footage showing representatives from a Texas Planned Parenthood facility discussing its willingness to alter abortion procedures to remove deceased children whole.

“The videos indicate that you follow a policy of agreeing to procure fetal tissue even if it means altering the timing or method of an abortion. These practices violate accepted medical standards, as reflected in federal law, and are Medicaid program violations that justify termination,” the letter reads.

It further notes that the organization violated safety protocols surrounding the spread of infectious diseases.

“Specifically, you allowed individuals posing as commercial buyers of fetal body parts to handle bloody fetal tissue while wearing only gloves,” the Commission outlines.

Planned Parenthood has 30 days to request a resolution meeting before the termination becomes final.

“Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Roman Catholic, in a statement following the issuance of the letter.

“The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end,” he said. “As such, ending the Medicaid participation of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the State of Texas is another step in providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable—the unborn.”

As previously reported, a video released in August by the Center for Medical Progress captured Melissa Farrell, director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, discussing with undercover investigators the “diversification of the revenue stream” over dinner along with a visit to the organization’s pathology lab, where workers sort through the remains of aborted babies.

“If we alter our process and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget, that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this,” she explained. “I mean, it’s all just a matter of line items.”

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