An anticipated showdown over Indiana’s new law that cuts off funds for the Planned Parenthood organization may check just how far Republican states are willing to go in pushing their anti-abortion agendas. The stakes are high and the costs are even higher.

Indiana is the first state to cut off all funds to Planned Parenthood this year. This is in line with the Republican’s goal of weakening organizations that promote and provide abortion. Many other conservative states have already thought of doing the exact same thing but backed down due to the fear of losing federal money for all their Medicaid programs.

The eagerness of Indiana to stand up to federal government and risk billions of financial penalties could take this issue to uncharted political and legal territory. Republican leaders from other states are closely watching the looming confrontation as they device their own plans on abortion.

Christopher Arterton, a George Washington University professor, said that this is an example of an instance wherein a state is trying to go against national policy and in doing so; they are most likely to forego federal funding.

Is Indiana really willing to risk as much as $4.3 billion in Medicaid funds to stand-up for their right-to-life movement? Many Republicans believe that it is high time that they risk penalties to defend their principles.

On the other hand, many are questioning if the federal government – the Obama administration in particular – is willing to allow low-income families depending on Medicaid to suffer just to punish an insolent state?

United States President Barack Obama and all the congressional leaders have not reached an agreement regarding the compromise and the plans to cut spending costs. Analysts fear that the disagreements within the congress will force a Friday midnight government shutdown. No one, however, seems to want a shutdown.

The President, Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House John Boehner said that during two meetings in the White House, some of the differences have been narrowed down. They worked through the night to come up with a deal. Right after the meeting, Obama said in the White House’s briefing room that he wants and answer by sun up.

The president fears that a shutdown will cause a huge blow to the already improving U.S economy. In the last months, the economy has started to create jobs for a lot of people and Obama believes it is unacceptable to put a stop on the improvement just because Washington can’t get it right.

Because coming up with an agreement seems to be a long shot, Republicans passed a legislation to fund the Pentagon for another six months but cut $12 billion on domestic spending. Boehner said that there is no reason that the Senate should not follow the House in making sure that the government remains open.

Obama, however, threatened to veto the bill even before the said bill passed. The White House said that the legislation looks like a distraction from what the congress should be focusing on.

The Senate is yet to pass its own bill. In the mean time, the Congress passed two short-term measures just to keep the government running. Moreover, they also approved $10 billion worth of budget cuts.