KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he will sign into law legislation blocking Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, a longtime priority for Republicans even as abortion remains banned in the state.

The legislation bans any public funds, including Medicaid reimbursements, from going to the organization, abortion facilities, or their affiliates. But it has sparked fears that the measure would hurt those who use Planned Parenthood for a variety of health care services.

Parson’s office said in a news release on Wednesday that the Republican governor would sign the bill Thursday morning at the state Capitol.

While it has been a priority for Republicans, the legislation has also widely been viewed inside the Capitol as a way to appease a hard-right faction of senators called the Missouri Freedom Caucus.

The group has vowed to block the renewal of a crucial series of taxes that fund Medicaid until Parson signed the bill and until lawmakers pass separate legislation to make it harder for Missourians to amend the state constitution.

Infighting among GOP senators threatens to blow up the General Assembly’s final two weeks of session and could force lawmakers into a special session. The Freedom Caucus spent roughly 40 hours halting debate in the chamber last week.

Sen. Denny Hoskins, a Warrensburg Republican and member of the Freedom Caucus, said he planned to let the bill re-authorizing the taxes, collectively known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance or FRA, come up for debate following the governor’s commitment to signing the bill to defund Planned Parenthood.

“As far as me personally, I think that since the governor has publicly said that he’s going to sign that, I believe that the FRA will not have much resistance as it goes through the Senate,” he said.

Hoskins also said that he expects the Senate to take up a measure to overhaul the state’s initiative petition process either “immediately before or immediately after” senators debate the bill to renew the taxes for Medicaid.

The initiative petition legislation would make it harder for voters to amend the Missouri Constitution in part by weakening the voting power of urban areas.

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