In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Sen. Ted Cruz says that state legislatures and governors now need to “stand up and lead” on defunding Planned Parenthood.

“I encourage every state legislature and every governor to stand up and lead on Planned Parenthood,” the GOP presidential contender said. “Unfortunately, Republican leadership in Washington is unwilling to lead and, indeed, it’s Republican leadership who’s joined with Barack Obama in leading the fight to preserve taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.”

Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Utah, and New Hampshire have moved to eliminate Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood after investigative videos have exposed the organization’s practice of selling the body parts of aborted babies. The Obama administration, however, has threatened action against states that attempt to defund the abortion business.

“The states can make a real difference,” Cruz continued, adding:

I’m proud of my home state of Texas for standing up and leading and I would encourage every state to take the lead in stopping taxpayer funds from going to a private organization – Planned Parenthood – that is currently under multiple investigations for apparently committing a pattern of ongoing felonies of illegally selling the body parts of unborn children.

Cruz headlined an event in New Hampshire, “Practical Federalism: Stand Up and Fight,” hosted by American Principles Project, Cornerstone Action, and The Family Leader, that focused on how far America has moved away from the Constitution over the past century, shifting power away from the states and the people and toward the federal government.