COLUMBUS, Ohio, October 21, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – The Ohio state Senate has passed a bill intended to defund Planned Parenthood of all state and some federal taxpayer dollars.
The full chamber passed Senate Bill 214 by a vote of 23-10 this afternoon.
The bill would mandate that Ohio “state funds and certain federal funds are not used either to perform or promote non-therapeutic abortions, or to contract or affiliate with any entity that performs or promotes” them.
The law was inspired by undercover videos released by the Center for Medical Progress revealing Planned Parenthood's willingness to receive money in exchange for the body parts of aborted babies.
Ohio Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said he found it “sickening” that Planned Parenthood receives taxpayer dollars. “An organization that has one of their people out there saying, 'I want to maximize the amount of money I get out of baby parts so I can get a Lamborghini,' is not an organization that's deserving of public money,” he told Ohio media outlets.
State and national pro-life leaders cheered the bill's passage.
“As the U.S. Supreme Court has said, state governments have a real interest in preserving and promoting the health and safety of babies before they are born,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox, who testified in favor of the bill in front of the Ohio Senate’s Government Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday. “States have authority to enact laws and policies that encourage childbirth over abortion, including withholding taxpayer subsidies. In fact, states aren’t required to commit any resources to facilitating abortion.”
State pro-life leaders agreed the bill, inspired by the often graphic videos, was a step in the right direction.
“The grotesque revelations of this summer's video scandal have brought renewed energy to our pro-life state to end business with the abortion industry once and for all,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. “There is no reason that the State of Ohio should be in business with the so-called 'Walmart' of abortion.”
“When an organization like Planned Parenthood ranks as one of the world's 50 most lucrative non-profits, the state should seriously reconsider how it is allocating taxpayer dollars,” she added. “We are grateful for the prudence and compassion of our elected officials in continually leading our state towards a more life-affirming culture.”
The bill – which would bar any organization that performs, advocates, or is an affiliate of any group that performs “nontherapeutic” abortions from receiving any state funds – now goes to the state House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass.
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“Nontherapeutic” under Ohio state law means any abortion excluding those performed in the case of legally reported rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
