OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma is withdrawing federal funding to three Planned Parenthood clinics in Tulsa that has allowed them to provide food and nutritional counseling to low-income mothers for 18 years — a decision that mirrors efforts in other conservative states to defund the group and one its director called a ‘‘short-sighted political maneuver.’’
The State Department of Health notified Jill June, the chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, in a letter last week that it would be terminating its contracts with the Tulsa facilities at the end of December. The contracts are funded through the Women, Infants, and Children program. This year, the Planned Parenthood clinics received $454,000, combined.
The head of the health department’s WIC Services division said the decision was based in part on the uncertainty of future federal funds and that Planned Parenthood’s cost per participant exceeded those of other Tulsa-area clinics.
‘‘There were performance factors included in this decision,’’ said Terry Bryce, the chief of the health department’s WIC Services division.
Bryce denied there was any political motive behind the move, which he described as a ‘‘business decision.’’
June questioned whether a business decision was in the best interest of the women and children who receive services.