Idaho advances legislation to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortion

Idaho lawmakers have advanced a bill to remove all taxpayer funds from any public entity that commits or provides information or counseling for abortion, according to the Associated Press. 

HB220, the “No Public Funds for Abortion Act,” would help to create a near-total separation between any institution that receives taxpayer funds and any activity relating to abortion, including paying for, promoting, referring, counseling, or providing the facilities or training for abortion. 

The bill specifically names schools and public health departments, and it defines a violation as a misuse of public funds and subject to fines or imprisonment. The bill exempts hospitals, situations where a mother’s life is endangered, and Medicaid transactions since the latter is governed by federal law. 

The bill passed the House State Affairs Committee with a 10-4 vote. One Republican who voted against the bill cited her concern that the exceptions to the bill could codify the exceptions into law. 

Many objections to the bill, as reported by the AP, stem from the false notion that Planned Parenthood largely or primarily offers health care. Many also espouse the indefensible claim that abortion is health care. 

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State Director for Planned Parenthood Mistie Tolman immediately objected to the prospective loss of funds. Tolman characterized Planned Parenthood as a “healthcare provider” and argued that the abortion giant provides cancer screenings, contraception, and other services. She claimed that removing public funds would deprive patients of their access to care: “With our healthcare system stretched thin by a once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis, patients are already struggling to access care.” 

The truth is that abortion is a violent procedure, and it is never medically necessary to deliberately target a preborn child for death. Planned Parenthood, which has three locations in Idaho, has abortion as its core mission. The abortion giant reported a record number of abortions in its recent 2019-2020 report, during which time it received $618.1 million in taxpayer funds, as Live Action News reported. 

In contrast, government-funded community health centers that provide actual health care to women vastly outnumber the nation’s 600 Planned Parenthood facilities.

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