New Jersey Governor Christie Pressured to Sign Bill for Planned Parenthood $
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 21, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is coming under pressure to sign a bill that would restore the family planning funds his administration cut from the state budget because of deep economic troubles. The money flows in part to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business.
The funds go to 58 family planning clinics but Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain, runs 29 of the facilities.
Although the tax money doesn’t directly fund abortions, Christie thinks there’s little reason to send the abortion centers $7.5 million when the state currently faces an $11 billion deficit.
Christie’s state budget removed the millions in funding for the abortion businesses but Democrats, in June, voted to restore the health and family planning services via a supplemental funding bill that is on his desk.
Today, the Star-Ledger newspaper has released an editorial pressuring Christie to sign the legislation restoring the funding.
"Gov. Chris Christie is standing in the way of restoring funds to state family planning services, and for no good reason," it claims. "Christie’s opposition to the funding has won him praise from abortion opponents, but that’s a phony issue: no state funds are ever used for abortion."
"Both houses of the Legislature have passed a bill to transfer the money. The Senate did so with enough votes to override a veto; the Assembly did not but might be able to pull it off if necessary," the newspaper continued.
"But it shouldn’t come to that. Christie should sign the bill — or, if he can’t bring himself to do so, then let it become law by default in 45 days," the Star-Ledger said.
As of June, Christie had been resolute in his decision to cut the funds.
"I don’t believe that is a priority in a budget where you have to cut $11 billion," the governor said. "I believe that women have the opportunity to access health care all across New Jersey. Family planning has nothing to do with mammograms, and don’t put the two of them together."
Gregory Quinlan, the director of government affairs for the pro-life New Jersey Family Policy Council, is urging pro-life advocates to contact Christie to Veto S2139 the Women’s Health and Family Services bill.
"The persons testifying in support of the bill represented Planned Parenthood facilities throughout the state and those associated with Planned Parenthood as well as the sponsors of the legislation," Quinlan noted. "During testimony of Planned Parenthood representatives, they openly admitted in their printed and oral testimony before the committee that Planned Parenthood performed 39,000 abortions in the state of New Jersey and prevented over 18,000 unwanted pregnancies."
Backers of cutting the family planning funding have also referenced statistics from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, a former Planned Parenthood affiliate. Its statistics show New Jersey was in the top ten for teen birthrates and came in second place for the highest abortion rate, despite the millions sent to Planned Parenthood for family planning.
Related web sites:
Contact Governor Christie – https://www.nj.gov/nj/feedback.html
New Jersey Family Policy Council – https://www.NJFPC.org
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