Attack on Federal Funding for Planned Parenthood

New York Times (Apr. 14, 2017): Voiding Obama Rule, Trump Signs Law Taking Aim at Planned Parenthood, by Julie Hirschfeld Davis:

At the end of his term, President Obama, responding to a spate of red state initiatives to defund Planned Parenthood, promulgated a regulation banning states from withholding federal funding for family planning only if the provider is unable to provide family planning services.  The mere fact that a family planning provider performed abortions was not reason enough for withholding funds.  A new law, the tiebreaker vote on which was cast by Vice-President Mike Pence, guts this late-term regulation.  Under the law, states may cut the federal funding of groups that perform abortions.  The law takes a step further the already existing ban on using  federal government money for abortion except in cases of where a woman's life is at stake or the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.

President Trump, who signed the law yesterday, is an opponent of abortion.  Early in his term he reinstated a regulation blocking federal funding for any nongovernmental organizations worldwide that provide abortion counseling.    

Anti-abortion conservatives have been cheered by Trump's actions and foresee further legislative activity that will withdraw public support of family planning that includes abortion.