Petitions Oppose Texas Seeking Abortion Provider Waiver
AUSTIN (AP) - Planned Parenthood has delivered what it says are 16,000-plus petition signatures opposing Texas' asking the federal government to fund a state-run women's health program excluding abortion providers.
Activists turned in the petitions Monday at Gov. Greg Abbott's office at the Texas Capitol.
Texas last month sought a waiver to restore millions of federal Medicaid dollars blocked under President Barack Obama in 2011, after the state's family planning program booted Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
The request hasn't yet been answered but is seen as a test of how abortion policy might change under President Donald Trump. If Texas gets a waiver, other conservative states could seek similar ones.
The move follows Planned Parenthood failing to block a health care overhaul in Congress that seeks to halt its federal funding.
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