Posted on 07/03/2012 9:20:52 PM PDT by Qbert
The North Carolina state legislature has de-funded Planned Parenthood — with legislative leaders agreeing to a state budget that redirects $343,000 in family planning funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s biggest abortion business, to county health departments.
The budget was enacted at midnight last night after the legislature voted to override Governor Bev Perdue’s veto and it was the second time the legislature overrode a Perdue veto of a budget de-funding Planned Parenthood.
Today, the Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life organization, praised Majority Leader Paul Stam, State Representatives Justin Burr, Marilyn Avila, Nelson Dollar, and the North Carolina legislature for overriding Perdue’s veto.
“Planned Parenthood is an abortion-centered, profit-driven business, not the caring health provider for women and girls they purport to be. They neither need nor deserve taxpayer dollars,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List. “This budget adjustment does not cut a dime of family planning funding. It does protect the consciences of pro-life taxpayers by sending funds to county health departments which do not perform abortions.”
Dannenfelser continued: “In the last year Planned Parenthood was exposed as a willing ally of alleged human traffickers, culpable of the waste, abuse, and potential fraud of millions of taxpayer dollars, and most recently as a facilitator of sex-selective abortions. Despite these scandals, President Obama has refused to allow a single tax dollar to be cut from Planned Parenthood at the federal level. As he fights to protect Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer-funded bottom line, Americans nationwide are firmly resolved to defund big abortion and protect the conscience rights of taxpayers. North Carolina legislators will not be the last to take action.”
Last year, pro-life legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly voted to strip Planned Parenthood of roughly $434,000 in the budget. Governor Bev Purdue vetoed the budget, which was overridden by the legislature. The provision specifically named Planned Parenthood, and a legal challenge by the abortion business resulted in a preliminary injunction. The language passed in this year’s budget revision does not specifically target Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina (PPCNC) filed suit in federal court to declare invalid the portion of the state budget that yanked its tax money. Planned Parenthood CEO Janet Colm claimed the abortion chain was wrongly singled out for a revocation of tax dollars and complains the abortion business may have to close or scale back offices and potentially lay off staff if the funding is not received.
U.S. District Court Judge James Beaty heard arguments from both sides in Winston Salem and eventually ordered North Carolina to honor its contract with Planned Parenthood pending the outcome of the lawsuit. Beaty issued a preliminary injunction siding with the abortion giant in its demand to receive $212,000 of the funds.
Barbara Holt, the president of North Carolina Right to Life, supported the move to revoke taxpayer financing.
“Planned Parenthood is the single largest abortion provider in the nation and our tax dollars should not go to organizations who are in the business of killing unborn children,” stated Holt. “97.6% of the services Planned Parenthood reports as involving pregnant women are abortion services.”
According to the SBA List, eight states successfully defunded Planned Parenthood of more than $61.7 million in 2011 and, this year, Arizona, Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Oklahoma have taken on Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding.
I can already smell another lawsuit from Obergruppenfuhrer Holder. You gotta play by Barry’s rules or Eric the Holder will sue yo ass.
Some liberal court will overturn this in the near future, no doubt.
However, the states need to start asserting their rightful powers. We are a union of individual states not a monolithic federal entity. It is time for the states to push back.
NC has been kicking butt lately - including Gov. Perdue’s by overriding 3 of her vetoes. Sounds like a warm & fuzzy place for a Dem convention .... :-)
Well THIS is gonna piss-off Melinda Gates!
Well done North Carolina state legislators! Bravo!
Now we need even more states to do the same…
WAY TO GO NORTH CAROLINA!
What authority does the federal government have to interfere in the budgeting processes of any individual state? There’s no law that requires taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
If anyone sues, all NC has to say is Obamacare budgets for it so no point in being redundant.
Unintended consequences?
Poor Governor Sugardumplin’ ... where’s she going to get her Family Planning, now? You can’t expect the Overlords to go to County Health, can you?
I was thinking they can tell detracters that ObamaCare covers it, so jump in the pool. Once in you won't be able to afford condoms, much less kids, so it's a good thing ObamaCare covers killing your children...
But she is not running this year and it will be law in 2013
The issue the federal judge ruled on was whether the state could unilaterally cancel CONTRACTS entered into with Planned Parenthood. The new legislation bars the state health agency from issuing NEW grants or contracts.
Um, read the article. She already vetoed it, and the General Assembly has overridden it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.