COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – One of President Donald Trump’s earliest backers is taking advantage of a law signed by the president to further restrict funding to abortion providers.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s office says Friday the Republican has signed an executive order directing agencies not to allocate state and federal funds to health care providers affiliated with abortion clinics.
McMaster also has directed the state’s Medicaid agency to seek federal permission to exclude abortion clinics from its Medicaid provider network.
In April, Trump signed a law letting states deny certain federal funding to abortion providers including Planned Parenthood. That measure nullified an Obama-era rule that explicitly stopped states from denying federal Title X family planning funds to clinics that also provide abortion services.
McMaster was the first statewide elected official to back Trump. The governor’s complete order can be read here.
