On Friday, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against Arkansas, in an effort to stop the state from cutting off taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood via Medicaid. Arkansas was one of five states which moved to cut funding to the abortion giant earlier this year, as evidence of the organization’s unethical and illegal practices went public.
In an attempt to change the subject, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards offered some of the usual rhetoric…
Governor Hutchinson has no business telling women in Arkansas where they can and cannot go for cancer screenings, birth control, HIV tests and other care. It’s insulting, it’s outrageous, and it’s exactly why we’re fighting in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, in Congress, and anywhere there are efforts to block our patients from accessing the care they need.
As Richards mentions, Planned Parenthood has taken similar legal action in Alabama and Louisiana. What she fails to mention is that no one is actually trying to tell “women in Arkansas where they can and cannot go for cancer screenings.” States are simply taking appropriate action to halt funding to an organization which has been – and continues to be – exposed as having little to no regard for the law, for basic ethics, or for women’s health and well-being.
The White House has already warned states against defunding Planned Parenthood. But presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, along with Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, have committed to stand their ground and allow the issue to play out in court.
