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INDIANAPOLIS, April 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Indiana Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, putting the state ahead of many others currently moving to cut off funding to the abortion giant.

House Bill 1210 cuts Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements and family planning funds, and also places further restrictions on abortions. The measure would deprive Planned Parenthood of an estimated $3 million. Planned Parenthood of Indiana president and CEO Betty Cockrum called HB 1210 “unconstitutional on its face.”

The author of the amendment, Republican Sen. Scott Schneider, said that there’s only one thing Planned Parenthood would have to do to secure funding: stop killing unborn children.

“If [Planned Parenthood] wants to receive taxpayer money, they can simply stop practicing abortion,” said Schneider, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Sen. Michael Young, a Republican co-sponsor, said, “The taxpayers will no longer fund an organization that provides abortion as part of their services that they give to the public.”

The bill, which has been amended by the Senate, now returns to state House lawmakers for reconsideration.

Although a federal effort to defund the abortion giant failed this month, the initiative has gained steam on the state level.  Parenthood measures include North Carolina, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

Planned Parenthood has sustained considerable damage to its national popular image through sting operations revealing a widespread failure among its affiliates to report statutory rape, as well as complicity in illegal underage sex trafficking.

The friction heightened in recent weeks as Planned Parenthood fought to portray itself as an essential women’s health care provider, while pro-life groups such as Live Action challenged the billion-dollar organization for downplaying its dependence on its abortion business.