TRENTON, New Jersey, July 12, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of funding for Planned Parenthood in the state budget will stand now that New Jersey’s Democrat senators have failed in their bid to override his veto.
The legislature has already failed several times to restore funding for the abortion provider over Christie’s veto, including an attempt to restore funding through a Medicaid expansion.
Christie vetoed more than $1.3 billion in extra spending demanded by the Democrat-controlled legislature for FY 2012, including the state family planning funds that would be available to Planned Parenthood.
Senate Democrats led the charge to override Christie’s vetoes of the Planned Parenthood funding and 14 other items from the state budget.
The Planned Parenthood funding vote failed 25-14, with just one Republican, Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth), crossing the aisle to join Democrats. Supporters of Planned Parenthood needed 27 votes in order to achieve the 2/3 majority needed to override Christie’s veto.
An undercover sting video from January of this year of a New Jersey Planned Parenthood manager giving advice to undercover journalists with the pro-life group Live Action on how to conceal an illegal child sex trafficking operation was a feature of Monday’s heated debate.
The Star-Ledger reports Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) said on the floor that a “significant portion” of the $7.5 million in family planning funds would end up going to Planned Parenthood, which he flatly called “a promoter of child prostitution.”
Planned Parenthood of Central Jersey dismissed an employee, Amy Woodruff, from Planned Parenthood Central New Jersey’s Perth Amboy center after the Live Action video came out, saying that the manager’s behavior was at odds with the abortion provider’s “core values.”
Christie has been frank about his pro-life beliefs and standing by those convictions as governor. He headlined the 2011 March for Life in Trenton, and told the crowd of pro-life advocates that the New Jersey governor’s office would be an ally for their movement.