Family Planning Funds Will Be Entirely Administered by Metro

Metro Health has indicated it’s willing to take over federal money that used to go to Planned Parenthood.

The money is earmarked for family planning services, like birth control and gynecological exams, but cannot be used to pay for abortions. Planned Parenthood had administered a portion of the grant in both Shelby and Davidson counties. The state legislature attempted to ban the organization from taking the funds. When an amendment blocked that effort, the Haslam administration asked the local health departments to take on the entire grant so that Planned Parenthood wouldn’t be involved.

Initially, Metro Health Director Bill Paul expressed concern that his agency would be required to serve more patients than the money would actually cover if it handled the entire program.

But in a letter to the Tennessee Health Department dated today, he indicates that state officials have clarified that the funding is not tied to a specific caseload, and says Metro Health will accept the entire grant.

Web extra:
The language barring Planned Parenthood from accepting federal Title X funds was added to the massive bill outlining the state’s budget, which passed. It wasn’t until afterwards that most discovered another amendment had been quietly added—and included in the final version of the budget—which nullified the language creating the ban.