Craig Melvin Reports guest host Yasmin Vossoughian and correspondent Ellison Barber ratcheted up MSNBC's crusade against state-level pro-life laws on Thursday as they warned that a new Missouri law could lead to increases in things such as breast cancer by cutting off funding for mammograms -- something abortion provider Planned Parenthood doesn't offer.
Vossoughian kicked off the segment by declaring that, "The last remaining abortion provider in Missouri, the Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, sounding the alarm as new state rules are taking effect. Starting this week any time an inspector finds a violation, they can report it to the Department of Social Services which then regulates Medicaid in the state of Missouri. So this means the state can actually could actually yank Medicaid funding for that Planned Parenthood."
The result, according to Vossoughian, is that such cuts "would effect even non-abortion services like cancer screenings and postpartum care as well."
Later on in the segment, Barber would wonder why anyone would want to cut off money to Planned Parenthood, considering "the Hyde Amendment already prevents federal money from being used for abortion."
Of course, money is fungible, but Barber continued MSNBC's tradition of being Planned Parenthood's public relations arm, "So what's being discussed here is pulling money that patients who rely on Medicaid would use to come and see a provider at Planned Parenthood for fairly basic health care needs. A pap smear, a breast cancer exam, birth control."
After reading from a Missouri Senate report defending the law, Barber repeated her previous point:
Big picture here, if you're thinking about what we heard from the clinical director there, how they care for so many people in this community across, this state who are low income patients for non-abortion-related needs, we are already at a place because of the pandemic where the health care system is strained across this state. If all of those patients are unable to go get a pap smear or a breast cancer exam at their Planned Parenthood care provider, where do they go? The system is already so burdened and that could be a problem big picture. It's kind of an extra layer here of concerns that activists we've spoken to have.
The myth that Planned Parenthood is necessary for breast cancer prevention is almost a decade old and even fact-checkers that are not exactly conservative-leaning have debunked it. Even the website for the St. Louis Planned Parenthood that Barber was standing in front of says they only offer breast exams, but when it comes to mammograms, all they do is issue referrals.
This segment was sponsored by ADT Security Services.
Here is a transcript for the October 14 show:
MSNBC
Craig Melvin Reports
9:16 AM ET
YASMIN VOSSOUGHIAN: Alright, so this morning we're following a new flash point in the fight over abortion rights. The last remaining abortion provider in Missouri, the Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, sounding the alarm as new state rules are taking effect. Starting this week any time an inspector finds a violation, they can report it to the Department of Social Services which then regulates Medicaid in the state of Missouri. So this means the state could actually can actually yank Medicaid funding for that Planned Parenthood. That would effect even non-abortion services like cancer screenings and postpartum care as well.
…
ELLISON BARBER: So the Hyde Amendment already prevents federal money from being used for abortion. So what's being discussed here is pulling money that patients who rely on Medicaid would use to come and see a provider at Planned Parenthood for fairly basic health care needs. A pap smear, a breast cancer exam, birth control. This is a rule that is based on recommendations made by a committee with the Missouri Senate, a Republican-led committee, and in their recommendations they wrote this in part quote “The duties of the committee were to conduct in-depth studies and make appropriate recommendations concerning the Missouri HealthNet program, the protection of unborn human life, and ensuring Missouri tax dollars are spent in accordance with the values of Missourians.”Big picture here, if you're thinking about what we heard from the clinical director there, how they care for so many people in this community across, this state who are low income patients for non-abortion-related needs, we are already at a place because of the pandemic where the health care system is strained across this state. If all of those patients are unable to go get a pap smear or a breast cancer exam at their Planned Parenthood care provider, where do they go? The system is already so burdened and that could be a problem big picture. It's kind of an extra layer here of concerns that activists we've spoken to have.
