North Carolina Becomes Third State to De-Fund Planned Parenthood
North Carolina has become the third state to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business now that both houses of the state legislature have agreed to override pro-abortion Gov. Bev Perdue’s budget veto.
The state legislature approved a measure to remove federal funds from the pro-abortion organization in its state budget. In North Carolina, the abortion business receives $434,000 through state family planning programs aimed at reducing teen pregnancies and providing birth control. Although the money can only be used for non-abortion services, the same organization is also the nation’s largest abortion business — doing more than 330,000 annually and comprising more than one-quarter of all abortions in the United States annually.
The provision would have North Carolina follow Indiana in declining to fund Planned Parenthood through the family planning program authorized under Medicaid. Indiana currently faces a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood and North Carolina could face one as well if the de-funding provision eventually becomes law under the state budget.
After the state House voted to override the veto, House Speaker Thom Tillis said “We think we’ve done something historic on several different levels” according to the Greensboro News-Record. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, also a Republican, told the newspaper the state Senate would follow suit today and it did just that.
Republicans hold 31 seats in the 50-seat state Senate and that proved to be more than enough for the override.
Following the vote, the Planned Parenthood abortion business criticized state legislators because the budget provision “would effectively end state and federal funding for Planned Parenthood.” http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/15/north-carolina-becomes-third-state-to-de-fund-planned-parenthood/
Indiana Defends Planned Parenthood De-Funding in Legal Papers
A federal judge received the final legal papers today from Indiana officials defending a new state law that revokes taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business under Medicaid. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt also received documents from Planned Parenthood.
Governor Mitch Daniels signed the law, which would cut off anywhere from $2 million to $3 million the Planned Parenthood abortion business receives in federal funds via the Indiana government through Medicaid. Judge Pratt initially declined to issue the injunction while she takes more time to analyze the legal issues involved in the lawsuit. That type of decision is usually an indicator that the judge will eventually issue a ruling against the party bringing the lawsuit.
The final legal papers both sides filed set the stage for a decision expected within days on whether Planned Parenthood will continue to receive funding. The abortion business says it needs the money soon or it will have to close some of its 28 centers across the state.
Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher outlined the case for the state, saying Planned Parenthood does not try to segregate its funds to ensure the taxpayer money is not paying for abortions. He said President Barack Obama’s Medicaid Administrator, Donald Berwick, was wrong to send Indiana a letter threatening to cut off billions in Medicaid funding and Fisher defended the state’s right to determine the best recipients for the family planning dollars distributed through Medicaid.
Berwick’s office issued a letter to Indiana threatening to cut off Medicaid funding if it follows through with enforcement of its new law de-funding Planned Parenthood and that letter went out to 49 other states threatening to revoke their Medicaid funding if they follow Indiana’s lead.
The state also argues that it can’t be sure Planned Parenthood is not using the federal money to pay for abortions or staff or medical supplies releated to abortions because there is “no record that PPIN makes any effort to either segregate Medicaid reimbursements from other unrestricted revenue sources or to allocate the cost of its various lines of business, whether abortion, family planning, cancer screenings, or other services.” http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/15/indiana-defends-planned-parenthood-de-funding-in-legal-papers/
