Governor Kasich Signs Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood
Ohio Strips $1.3 Million from Abortion Business
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Katherine Franklin
DATE: Monday, February 22, 2016 PHONE: 614-547-0099 ext. 304
COLUMBUS, Ohio–Yesterday, Governor John Kasich signed Ohio Right to Life’s legislation to de-fund Planned Parenthood (H.B. 294). Sponsored by Representatives Margaret Conditt (R-Liberty Township) and Bill Patmon (D-Cleveland), this legislation cuts over $1 million in yearly federal grants to Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion provider. This legislation was a top priority on Ohio Right to Life’s 2015-2016 legislative agenda, which was announced last February. It received renewed interest following the release of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials negotiating dollar amounts for aborted babies’ body parts. In December, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine revealed that in Ohio, Planned Parenthood locations are contracting with companies that dump fetal remains in landfills.
“Our team is proud to lead the way in our nation’s extraordinary push to de-fund Planned Parenthood,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “On behalf of our statewide membership, Ohio Right to Life thanks Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly for the enactment of this historic legislation. Without their compassion, our taxpayer dollars would continue to enable the decimation of thousands of unborn lives. With grateful hearts, we mark this week as the week the State of Ohio left the abortion industry.”
House Bill 294 marks the seventeenth piece of pro-life legislation signed by Governor Kasich in the last five years. Included on that list are Ohio’s Late-Term Abortion Ban, the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act, and funding for life-affirming pregnancy centers. Since Governor Kasich took office in 2011, abortions in Ohio have decreased 25 percent, and half of Ohio’s abortion facilities have closed or stopped performing surgical abortions.
“Thanks to the pro-life leadership of Governor Kasich and his work with Ohio Right to Life, Ohio’s abortion industry is shrinking,” said Gonidakis. “As Planned Parenthood haggles over the hearts and brains of aborted babies, Ohio Right to Life is marking history with legislation that is both ethically consistent and fiscally responsible.”
Ohio Right to Life thanks the following pro-life leaders and organizations for their support for H.B. 294:
- Alliance Defending Freedom
- Ashtabula County Friends for Life
- Champaign County Right to Life
- Charlotte Lozier Institute
- College Republicans, Lourdes University
- Dayton Right to Life
- Heartbeat of Toledo
- Life Works Ohio
- Dr. Kathleen Lutter, OB-GYN
- Mercer County Right to Life
- Miami County Right to Life
- Right to Life of Northeast Ohio
- Dr. Michael Parker, OB-GYN
- Pregnancy Decision Health Centers
- Students for Life of America
- Students for Life – University of Akron
- Pro-life Club – The Ohio State University
- Students for Life – Miami University
- Pro-life Club – Bishop Hartley High School
- Eagles for Life – Chaminade Julienne High School
