News

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 5, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – After overriding a Democratic governor’s veto in New Hampshire to enact a partial birth ban, Republicans in North Carolina moved against another Democrat who vetoed attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has tried to block pro-life measures in states around the nation.

North Carolina
North Carolina legislators overrode Democratic Governor Bev Perdue’s veto of a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood statewide on Monday night. The bill does not explicitly mention the abortion provider, a legal sticking point that stymied similar efforts last year. One of the state’s two affiliates, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, told media sources the move will cost it $200,000. 

Iowa
Pro-life legislators in Iowa are asking the state Department of Health to rewrite regulations that allow Medicaid to fund abortions. The state currently funds abortion in the case or rape or incest, to save the life of the mother, or if the child suffers from defects a doctor asserts would cause the child to die shortly after birth. The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Jill June, said the bill “would revictimize” women.   

Alaska
Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services has proposed new rules to guard against fraud when the state funds abortion – and the state’s abortion providers have pointedly objected. The new language would require abortionists to file a written certificate that women who hope to receive state funding for their procedure obtained the abortion because it resulted from rape, incest, or threatened the mother’s health. Clover Simon of Planned Parenthood called the anti-fraud measure “an added step, another burden to [abortion] providers.” State Representative Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, said if the bill is adopted, “I think less abortions would be paid for by the state, and that is the issue.”

Virginia
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Executive Director Tarina Keene fought the Virginia bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion. Now, she’s crying foul over a new state website that lists locations where women can receive such ultrasounds – composed entirely of crisis pregnancy centers. Keene worries CPCs may withhold the resulting images from abortion providers. The one-page list may restrict itself to centers dedicated to saying babies because it lists only “no-cost ultrasound services.”

(Click “like” if you want to end abortion! )

Ohio
Ohio voters will not be able to vote on a Personhood measure this November, since the motion’s supporters failed to gather the necessary 385,000 signatures necessary to put the issue on the ballot. The leaders of Personhood Ohio plan to gather shortly to plan how to move forward in that bellwether state.

Washington
The people of Washington state will weigh in on one – but only one – ballot initiative on the issue of marriage this fall. While citizens will vote on the controversial same-sex “marriage” bill signed by Governor Christine Gregoire, a second measure reaffirming the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman fell short of the needed signatures to appear on the same ballot.