Gov. Asa Hutchinson wasn’t the only one grandstanding on Planned Parenthood yesterday. The Salt Lake Tribune reports

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Gov. Gary Herbert has ordered all state agencies to stop funneling federal funds to the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.

The federal government provides grants to Planned Parenthood, which are distributed through the Utah Department of Health.

As far as I can tell, Herbert’s move relates to specific federal grant money being routed through state agencies, as opposed to trying to block Medicaid provider contracts, as Hutchinson is aiming to do in clear violation of federal law. The grant money in Utah would have gone to education and prevention programs for sexually transmitted diseases. From the Tribune: 

Karrie Galloway, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah executive director, slammed the decision Friday evening.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m appalled that the governor is making policy decisions according to news reports of allegations — without looking at Planned Parenthood’s 50-year history in the state of Utah,” she said, “and the fact that we have never erroneously used any state or federal money outside the rules.”

Galloway added that she understands and appreciates that no state money can be used for abortions.

“The money he is talking about is for education,” she said. “It’s federal money that we applied for through a [request for proposal] with the state health department to do evidence-based programs to reduce teen pregnancy. We celebrated those numbers going down about six months ago. Eliminating Planned Parenthood from participating in that is not the right move.”

According to numbers released by the governor’s office, Planned Parenthood’s budget for fiscal 2015 includes about $100,000 for STD testing and reporting, $115,000 for “abstinence education and personal responsibility education” and $1,339 for providing pregnancy tests and STD screenings to victims of rape and sexual assault.

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