Majority of Ohioans agree taxpayer funding should be redirected to other health centers
Editor’s note. NRL News Today reported last week that hours after approval by the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee, the Ohio Senate voted to re-route $1.3 million in state funding away from Planned Parenthood to Federally Qualified Health Centers or other community health clinics not involved with abortion. The following, from Ohio Right to Life, confirms that the public supports the move.
Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood
COLUMBUS, Ohio–Alliance Defending Freedom announced the results of a Public Opinion Strategies poll showing that a majority of Ohioans support de-funding Planned Parenthood in light of controversial videos released by the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood officials allegedly selling the body parts of aborted babies.
Sixty-four percent of Ohioans agree that Congress should end taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood, which received more than $528 million dollars in taxpayer funding in 2014.
“It’s no surprise that as more and more Ohioans become aware of Planned Parenthood’s grisly, callous discussions of babies’ hearts, livers, and brains, Ohioans would become increasingly repulsed by their business model,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. “For the last three months, Planned Parenthood has desperately tried to cover their tracks, playing public relations defense like we’ve never seen. No amount of pink t-shirts or tired doublespeak will convince Ohioans that aborting and harvesting babies’ brains is morally acceptable.”
On October 28, the Ohio Senate approved legislation to de-fund Planned Parenthood, 23-10. The legislation was originally listed as part of Ohio Right to Life’s 2015-2016 legislative agenda which was announced in February. The bill has received renewed momentum from this summer’s undercover video scandal. Senate Bill 214 is sponsored by Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina). Casey Mattox, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, testified last week that SB 214 is both constitutional and consistent with applicable federal law.
“When the so-called ‘Walmart’ of abortion is bringing in $127 million in excess revenue, it’s time our government ends its business relationship with this entity,” said Krider. “Ohio is home to hundreds of clinics and organizations that are providing free to low-cost care to hundreds of thousands of Ohioans–without doing abortions. We’re proud to see that Ohioans definitively oppose the abortion corporatism Planned Parenthood has become accustomed to.”