Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has just had a political hot potato tossed in his lap. He wants to run for president, it seems. In an interview with the Weekly Standard’s Andy Ferguson some time back, he supported a “truce” in the culture wars, angering his pro life constituency—and ignoring the reality that if the social conservatives declared a truce, it would be one to which only one side came.
Now, the Indiana Legislature has passed a bill that would restrict late term abortions, among other provisions, and deprive Planned Parenthood of $2 million in funding. PP says that if it becomes law, it will sue. From the story:
Data from Planned Parenthood in Indiana show that abortions accounted for about 4 percent of procedures given to women in 2010. The group provided 5,580 abortions last year. Indiana’s Planned Parenthood chapter says it will seek an injunction against the bill if it becomes law. In a statement, president Betty Cockrum said cutting off funding “will mean more unintended pregnancies, more Medicaid-covered births ... and more abortions.”
I beg your pardon? PP has a right to funding? Whether the decision would lead to “more unintended pregnancies” or not should be irrelevant: That’s a policy issue, not a legal one.
The question is whether legally, the state can cut off the money line. This would indicate to me that it can:
Indiana also receives $1 million in federal money to fund the Indiana Family Health Council, a nonprofit agency that provides family-planning services to low-income families and teens. The state cannot alter the agency’s funding because it receives the money directly from the federal government – as opposed to Planned Parenthood, which receives its funding indirectly through the state.
I know PP has been the pampered darling of those who control our government and institutions, but is it entitled to taxpayer largess? Sorry. If the people of Indiana, thr0ugh their elected representatives, determine that they want to spend the people’s money elsewhere, they should be so allowed. After all, it’s their money, not Planned Parenthood’s.
I hope Gov. Daniels signs the bill.
Update: Daniels has said he will sign. I believe this is the first govt. defunding of PP. It won’t be the last.
