A pair of Democrats joined Planned Parenthood officials outside a clinic in Perth Amboy on Monday to argue last month’s GOP budget bill harms reproductive health care access in the state.
A provision in President Donald Trump’s so-called Big, Beautiful Bill blocks Medicaid funds from being spent at Planned Parenthood facilities. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), the Democratic nominee for governor, and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) said the policy will make it harder for New Jerseyans to access vital reproductive care, cancer screenings, and STI testing.
The Trump administration has said “the bill stops federal subsidies for Big Abortion,” though Medicaid funds have not been allowed to cover abortions in nearly half a century. Planned Parenthood has sued the Trump administration over the law, and a federal judge has temporarily blocked the provision from taking effect. The White House has called that ruling “absurd.” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration in a separate case, arguing the blocked funds exceeded Congress’s authority.
Pallone said that if the efforts to “defund” Planned Parenthood take effect, clinics could be forced to cut hours, lay off staff, or shut their doors.
“[People] have never been able to use Medicaid for abortions,” Pallone said outside the clinic. “But what this Big, Beautiful Bill does now is to say that you can’t use Medicaid for your basic health care.”
Sherrill, who faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli in November’s general election, said Planned Parenthood facilities in the state saw 123,000 patients, provided 170,000 STI tests, and conducted 13,000 cancer screenings last year.
“One in three of those patients rely on Medicaid, and this care is essential,” she said.
The congresswoman said Planned Parenthood has faced cuts in the state before, under former Gov. Chris Christie, and argued the cuts directly harmed the state’s residents.
“In 2010, Governor Chris Christie defunded Planned Parenthood, and STIs went up by nearly 27% over the next five years,” she said. “That’s what we are talking about.”
Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of Planned Parenthood; Dr. Elizabeth Talmont, a provider with Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey; and Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, joined the two members of Congress in Perth Amboy. Talmont said the clinic, one of nearly two dozen in the state, offers birth control, cancer screenings, STI tests, and abortion care.
“If those cuts go into effect, we are constantly surveying and assessing where the greatest need is and how we can best address it,” Talmont said. “We certainly value the support of our state partners, but there’s no getting around it.”
The Big, Beautiful Bill, which is expected to knock hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans off Medicaid or food stamps and decrease taxes for many in the state, has faced universal ire from Democrats since the president signed it a month ago. Sherrill, who might be running the state government at this time next year, said the state could look to fill some of the gaps itself, but hopes the lawsuits are successful.
“We are seeing attacks [on affordability] across the board, and that’s why it’s going to be so important for an expansive view of state power to step into this breach, while at the same time to continue to fight back against this,” she said. “That’s why I think the court battles are so incredibly important as we’re working here in New Jersey to claw back some of the federal dollars.”
Pallone said that between $3.3 billion in health care cuts and potentially hundreds of millions more in SNAP, the state government won’t be able to make up the difference.
“How is it possible for all levels of government in New Jersey to make up for all these Medicaid health care cuts, nutrition cuts?” Pallone said. “It’s virtually impossible.”
This article was updated to clarify a quote from Sherrill.
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