The abortion industry has been put on notice in the state of South Carolina. The message is simple: we don’t want your business.

Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order that prohibits any state or local tax money from being used to fund abortions. The executive order explicitly forbids the use of tax dollars being used to subsidize abortion or, and perhaps more importantly, being given to any agency or facility or doctor that is affiliated with an abortion business.

This is an important distinction as many abortion providers will often be allowed to receive tax dollars and then use those funds to pay for administrative costs, lease agreements, or other “non-abortion related” costs. This is how abortion providers get around funding prohibitions on abortion. This is also how Planned Parenthood can accept hundreds of millions of tax dollars and claim that they are not used for abortion. But this order is different in that it makes clear that any facility or doctor that is even affiliated with an abortion business is now ineligible to receive those tax dollars.

A recent article states: 

“The executive order directs state agencies to cease providing state or local funds – through grants, contracts, state-administered federal funds or any other form – to any physician or medical practices affiliated with an abortion clinic that is operating with or in the same physical location as one, according to the release.”

This means that any doctor or medical facility recognized by Planned Parenthood as a partner will not be permitted to receive tax dollars. Since many facilities rely on tax money to supplement their revenue, this could present a problem for these facilities.

This decision is, however, in line with what the American people have been seeking for a long time. Americans overwhelmingly believe that tax money should not be used to supplement abortion. Even pro-abortion advocates see the need to remove tax funding. This bi-partisan majority agrees that people should not be forced to pay for abortion with their hard earned money. Gov. McMaster’s decision to define the abortion industry in South Carolina is a step in the right direction.

For those that think McMaster and his administration hates women, it should be noted that Gov. McMaster ordered the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to help women alternative sources for healthcare. It was reported:

“McMaster’s administration is already putting the new order into effect and helping women find health care alternatives not run by an abortion agency. McMaster directed the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services to seek waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to allow the agency to exclude abortion clinics from the state’s Medicaid provider network, the release stated. Through McMaster’s order, SCDHHS has been instructed to coordinate with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to make a public a listing of all qualified non-abortion women’s health and family planning providers operating within a 25-mile radius of any abortion clinic excluded from the state’s Medicaid provider network.”

The claim by Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups that pro-life advocates hate women is often trumpeted in the media as a weapon against the pro-life position. But evidence from South Carolina suggests otherwise. McMaster and his administration are actively seeking to help women find alternatives to abortion while redirecting funds to these same organizations.

Making women’s health a priority means helping them understand the dangers of abortion; including the link between breast cancer and abortion, and the the link between mental health issues and abortion. Planned Parenthood doesn’t want anyone know about these dangers because it would hurt their bottom line, and profit is what Planned Parenthood is all about.

I’m thankful for a pro-life governor willing to take a bold stand against the evil of abortion. I have no doubt that he will come under fire and experience serious backlash. Standing for what is right is so counter cultural these days that it angers people. But when you know what is right, and you don’t do it, it’s wrong.