Mary Harned of AUL writes at The Corner at NRO about Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signing a bill into law that would ban public funding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
An excerpt:
Last week, Arizona — which has several laws in effect that prevent public funding for abortions — took a bold step to further ensure that taxpayer dollars are not bankrolling the abortion industry in that state.
House Bill 2800, signed by Governor Jan Brewer on Friday, provides that neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state “may . . . enter into a contract with or make a grant to” abortion providers for family-planning services. Further, “subject to any applicable requirements of federal law, regulations or guidelines,” the law establishes a priority system for entities that may receive family-planning funding.
Arizona joins at least 14 states that have laws prohibiting or placing restrictions on the allocation of family-planning funding to abortion providers. In 2011, ten states took new action to withhold family-planning funding, legislatively or administratively, from abortion providers. While at least four of these laws are presently in litigation, many lawmakers across the country are undeterred from their mission to better protect women and unborn children in their states.
After all, it is not surprising that the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and its supporters are not sitting quietly while their taxpayer “gravy train” is derailed.
There are three primary reasons for laws like the new Arizona law: (1) to prevent public subsidization of the abortion industry; (2) to prevent the state from giving an imprimatur to the practice of abortion; and (3) to ensure that family-planning funds are being used most effectively.
