House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, said Wednesday he has heard concerns from many legislators and many West Virginians about giving any state funding - even a small amount - to a local affiliate of Planned Parenthood.
"I think we have to understand it's a local affiliate of a large national organization that has lost the confidence of the public," Armstead said. "Whether it's a small amount or a large amount that's being distributed to an organization that's being investigated and is under scrutiny, at least at the national level."
On Tuesday, Armstead sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Karen Bowling, asking for information on payments DHHR has made to Planned Parenthood and for her "assistance in determining what steps can be taken to ensure that Planned Parenthood does not receive future funding to the state."
While Armstead's letter references "that approximately $800,000 of state money may have been paid to Planned Parenthood of West Virginia under the Family Planning Program," DHHR records found that only $66,000 had been paid to Planned Parenthood's only West Virginia location.
Those figures appeared to be confirmed by records in the state auditor's office.
That location, the Vienna Health Center in Wood County, has received grant funding to "fund cervical cancer screening, breast cancer screening, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and family planning services," according to Bowling.
That clinic in 2015 provided services to more than 650 women through the Family Planning Program and Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program, she stated.
Armstead's letter follow efforts in Congress to defund the national organization after release of undercover videos by an anti-abortion group discussing how fetal tissue is procured for medical research and treatment.
"The House of Representatives has voted to eliminate their funding over the next year while the investigation proceeds," Armstead said. "I think that's a pretty strong statement."
Armstead said he is aware that critics contend the videos were extensively edited, and give the false impression that the Planned Parenthood officials were selling tissue from aborted fetuses.
"That's part of what the investigation underway in Congress is designed to determine," he said. "They don't deny that fetal tissue is being removed or collected from aborted babies. I think that alone gives a lot of citizens and legislators a great deal of concern."
Armstead's actions continued to draw criticism from women's health and pro-choice organizations Wednesday.
Tisha Gay Reed, deputy director of WVFree, said she is appalled by Armstead's "attack on women's health."
"Removing ... funding from the Planned Parenthood site does nothing to address his concern regarding the practice of fetal tissue donation, but would definitely affect access to women's health care, which he states he does not wish to do," Reed said, noting that Armstead has acknowledged the Vienna clinic does not perform abortions.
"The only certain outcome would be to remove a vital provider of reproductive health care services for men and women," she added, noting that if the Vienna clinic were defunded, there is only one other location providing federal Title X Family Planning services, the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, which she said is staffed for clinical appointments only one day a week.
Armstead stressed that he is not trying to cut funding for women's health services.
"That's absolutely not what we're trying to do," he said, adding, "There are a number of providers of women's health care in this state that have not lost the trust of the people of West Virginia."
He also said there was confusion over the $800,000 figure.
"We knew there was money in that [Family Planning] fund, and that fund was at $800,000," Armstead said. "That's what we were asking, what part of that fund and other funding is being distributed to Planned Parenthood?"
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.