PA lawmakers to introduce bill to defund Planned Parenthood
First it was the cynically-named "Women's Right to Know Act," a bill that would force women undergoing an abortion to watch an ultra-sound of her unborn baby before undergoing the procedure. Remember how well that went over? After Gov. Corbett offered that patients could "just close [their] eyes when facing the ultrasound machine and when it was revealed that the procedure could involve transvaginal or internal probes bill co-sponsors started dropping like flies.
PA lawmakers to introduce bill to defund Planned Parenthood
First it was the "Women's Right to Know Act," a so-far failed bill that would force women undergoing an abortion to watch an ultra-sound of her unborn baby before undergoing the procedure.
Remember how well that went over? After Gov. Corbett offered that patients could "just close [their] eyes" when facing the ultrasound machine and when it was revealed that the procedure could involve transvaginal or internal probes, bill co-sponsors started dropping like flies.
Today Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler) unveils his own anti-abortion bill, one simmilar to those being considered in other states, that would eliminate public funding for Planned Parenthood.
The organization provide health services to some 123,000 Pennsylvanians a year. By far the majority of the services it provides are health screenings for cervical and breast cancer, birth control and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, often for low income and uninsured patients. Abortions represent roughly 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services.
Metcalfe's bill would put health care providers that offer abortion services at the bottom of the state funding list. Yet the legislation is called the "Whole Woman’s Health Funding Priority Act."
Joining Metcalfe at the Capitol media center for a news conference at 10 a.m. are co-sponsors Reps. Gordon Denlinger, Ryan Aument and Bryan Cutler, all Republicans from Lancaster, and Rep. Kathy Rapp (R., Forest), sponsor of the ultrasound bill. Supporting the bill are the Pennsylvania Family Institute, People Concerned for the Unborn Child, Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania and the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List.
Mallory Quigley, communications director for SBA List, told the Huffington Post the bill an "upgrade" for women's health services because it directs money away from Planned Parenthood clinics and toward hospitals and other kinds of family planning clinics that don't provide abortions. The SBA list keeps a scorecard that follows states cutting funding to Planned Parenthood.
Six states enacted legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in 2011: Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee. District judges in all of those states except Wisconsin have since determined that those laws were unconstitutional and have temporarily blocked them, the Huffington Post reported.
Arizona successfully stripped funds from Planned Parenthood, and legislators dropped similar proposed laws in Iowa and New Hampshire, but lawmakers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio and Michigan are considering such proposals.
Click herefor Philly.com's politics page.
3% of 123,000 is roughly 3,700. That means at least 3,700 babies were aborted using (at least partially) state tax dollars. One is too many...3,700 is sickening. Regarding the bill, the article says "it directs money away from Planned Parenthood clinics and toward hospitals and other kinds of family planning clinics that don't provide abortions." That's the way it should be! Most white liberals are fine with funding abortions in the inner cities since the majority of the aborted babies are inner-city black children.— Run BMC- The money that Planned Parenthood gets from the state doesn't even go to abortions. It goes to women's health. What part of that do these idiots not understand?— ME24601
- Yet again, I am embarrassed to be from this state.— bpp1999
- Pro Choice or Pro Life, I really don't care what concerns me is that most Politicians are men. Why is it men feel the need to tell any woman what she can and can't do with her body. It is not our jobs to jude what people decided to do with their life or bodies. I am not concerned how you live your life as long as it dosen't affect mine. You argue that you don't want you tax dollars paying for abortions well you health care premiums pay for it also. Most private insurances pay for abortions also, Opps I guess no one ever thought of that. Wait are you gonna stop paying your premiums because they pay for abortions also, then guess what you won't have any healthcare.
I guess that make every tax payer and employee that has health insurance through their employer Pro-Choice.— Philly Girl 2012 - If you get your jollies from killing babies - do it with your own money.— Beethoven987
- Aren't there other things to discuss like those that these same hypocrites keep screaming that Obama should? WHERE ARE THE JOBS????
Proof positive that the "right" does not care about you as an individual, women or any minority as a group, and civil rights in general. Power, defense, religion. That's it, and in that order.— celicaricky - I challenge anyone who is against abortion to go sit for an hour outside any Crown Fried Chicken. I guarantee you will not only change your mind, but you'll start looking for investors to open your own abortion clinic.
Seriously, I'd rather a few cents from my taxes to go PP than thousands of dollars toward food stamps, section 8 housing, education for those education is wasted on, welfare, free school lunches, free SEPTA tokens, etc, etc, etc......— s1360m - whats sad is that this does not end abortions. Abortions are still legal, but only for those who can afford it or have insurance. In other words, the daughter of a Main-Liner who gets knocked up in college and wants an abortion can still have one. Most likely that girl and the father have good genes that would have produced a contributing member of society. Those who utilize PP for abortions, lets face it, come mostly from a certain demographic that will not contribute to society. Those are the ones who should have easy access to abortion, for all of our benefit— s1360m
- When welfare mothers get pregnant, there should be a requirement that they either stop collecting welfare all-together or they get an abortion. As it stands now, welfare mothers actually get an increase in welfare payments when they get pregnant. "In da hood" that is like getting a raise. Don't forget the money in their welfare checks was originally OUR MONEY. I know some might say they could put the baby up for adoption. That would work in a fantasy world, but here in reality, no one wants to adopt a baby born from a welfare mother, who is most likely drug addicted (in turn making the baby dependent) or who does not possess positive traits and characteristics that are passed on to off-spring. Sorry for the dose of reality, but its time people realize whats really going on— s1360m
- Absolutely correct. Count how many pregnant high school girls give birth rather than get abortions during a single school year. Babies having babies---we foot the bill. — brio
- It fascinates me when GOP and Tea Baggers rant about rampant government involvement in our lives yet they want government to tell us who we can't marry and what we can't do w/ our bodies. I guess personal freedoms aren't very personal at all.— brio
- For those who seem to think that paying taxes to support immoral wars is OK, yet funding PP isn't, here's a news flash- you have your moral compass screwed up. Tax dollars do NOT pay PP for abortions, but they do pay for essential women's health services that save lives- both women's and men's by the way. Tax dollars to pay for the debacles in Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam, and a hos of other countries support killing, which is the point of war, after all. You can call it "defense" all you want, but none of these wars was about defense— CommonSenseRules
- The Republicans can't get elected with hateful ideas like this--that's why they're so busy suppressing opposition votes. As for me, I will never miss another election, and I will never vote Republican again.— Jeff West
- Those with the argument that Planned Parenthood is the only care in rural counties should leave the greater Philadelphia area. There are OB/GYNs, county health clinics, regional hospitals and wellness centers. If you are poor, you are eligible for Medicaid which covers medical screenings for cancer. If you have a job without benefits, you can go to one of the hospital clinics. We even have hospitals in rural PA, too.— tina848
- The biased and sarcastic tone of this article is one reason I refuse to pay/read newspapers. Government spending my tax dollars to fund abortions is the reason I fully support Rep Metcalfe's legislation.— Chantal
