(Reuters) – The Obama Administration on Thursday said it would begin shutting down a program that provides health care for more than 100,000 low-income women in Texas because the state will not allow funding for clinics that provide abortion services.
The move follows an announcement last week by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the federal government would withdraw funding for Texas’ “Women’s Health Program” after state lawmakers last year enacted the abortion funding prohibition.
“Because the state is implementing a restriction in the freedom of choice of providers in their Women’s Health Program that is not permitted under federal law, we have no choice but to not renew their program,” said Cindy Mann, the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency that administers the government-run healthcare programs for the elderly and poor.
“We both agree that this has been a very valuable program for women in Texas, and we very much regret taking this step,” Mann said.
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