Ohio state legislators passed pro-life amendments yesterday, including one that will de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
Yesterday, in what is being billed as a major pro-life victory, Ohio Right to Life announced the passages of multiple pro-life amendments to the state budget by the House of Representatives.
Led by pro-life Representatives Kristina Roegner, John Adams and Cheryl Grossman, the Ohio House approved the following Ohio Right to Life legislative initiatives: de-funding Planned Parenthood, providing funding to pregnancy centers helping women find abortion alternatives, and strengenthing inspections and oversight of abortion facilities.
“Under the leadership of pro-life Speaker Bill Batchelder, the Ohio House once again voted to protect women and their babies. We are witnessing historic pro-life gains due to our state government leaders who support women and reject business as usual within the abortion industry,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life.
Gonidakis told LifeNews the pro-life state budget now heads to the Ohio Senate where Ohio Right to Life endorsed officeholders have a 23 to 10 advantage.
“We will continue to work tirelessly until these amendments reach pro-life Governor John Kasich’s desk for his signature. We are calling on our statewide membership to engage their state senator and to speak on behalf of these pro-life initiatives. We expect Planned Parenthood to pull out their usually deceptive tactics in a last-ditch effort to fight the right to life and promote their harmful agenda towards mothers and babies,” said Gonidakis.
Ohio Right to Life says it thanks Northeast Right to Life and its leader, Denise Leipold, for helping to advocate for these amendments.
“With over 300 Ohio-based health care centers in desperate need of funding, it is critical to pass this legislation which will ensure the health care needs of women and their children are met,” Gonidakis said.
“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, performing over 320,000 abortions per year. For every one adoption they refer, they abort 391 babies,” Gonidakis continued. “What is most jarring is that Planned Parenthood performs an abortion upon 91% of all of the pregnant clients that walk through their doors. And we, as American taxpayers, are funding this organization.”
He added, “It can’t be ignored that Planned Parenthood is one of the largest pigs at the taxpayer trough, yet fails to provide certain and basic health care services offered at most of the other 300 clinics. It’s time to stand up against the special interests, abortion lobbyists and their allies and instead support poor and uninsured women and their kids.”
“This legislative approach will ensure that tax dollars allocated to health programs for uninsured women will continue by restructuring how our tax dollars are distributed, giving priority to those health centers where a majority of Ohio women receive care,” he said.
Last year, the Ohio House of Representatives defeated an effort by pro-life advocates to revoke taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood.
An amendment had been added to a bill to shut down taxpayer financing of the nation’s biggest abortion business but the state House removed a pro-life amendment from Governor Kasich’s Mid-Biennium Review legislation. The amendment would have defunded Planned Parenthood in Ohio but the House Finance Committee stripped the pro-life amendment, therefore terminating any opportunity to fast track this initiative.
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Gonidakis said pro-abortion lobbyists “will recklessly claim that women will be denied health care with the enactment of this legislation.”
“In reality, there are over 130 health districts and over 160 community health centers in Ohio that provide family planning services as well as comprehensive primary care. Groups like Planned Parenthood are only attempting to protect the taxpayer money that they have received for decades,” he said.
ACTION: Contact members of the Ohio legislature at https://www.legislature.state.oh.us/ to urge support for the bill.
