The Curbside Prophet

brodinsons:

Arizona bans funding of Planned Parenthood

(CNN) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed off on a bill that will prevent abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving public funds in most cases, her office said.

“This is a common sense law that tightens existing state regulations and closes loopholes in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions, whether directly or indirectly,” the governor said in a statement.

“By signing this measure into law, I stand with the majority of Americans who oppose the use of taxpayer funds for abortion,” Brewer said.

Kansas, North Carolina and Texas have enacted similar legislation, while Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin have used their budget processes to bar funding for abortion providers, according to her office.

Before Brewer signed the bill into law, the political arm of Planned Parenthood Arizona slammed the measure, which it says will put the health of thousands at risk.

Besides operating clinics where abortions are performed, Planned Parenthood provides a range of health services including cancer screenings, birth control, vaccinations, sexual health education and health counseling.

“Many in the legislature will never know what it’s like to feel a lump in their breast and have to worry about the cost of a doctor’s visit,” said Bryan Howard, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Arizona.

“This is the reality with which many Arizona women are faced, at the hands of a legislature determined to reduce access to prevention care while pursuing its ideological political agenda,” he said.

Gov. Jan Brewer said she stands “with the majority of Americans” who she says oppose taxpayer-funded abortions.

So, basically, this is yet another case of political figures not understanding Planned Parenthood and only seeing them as “abortion clinics” thanks to their sensitive moral and religious stances on the topic.

And, terrifyingly enough, it’s a case of a woman joining the war against women. It honestly horrifies me that there are people out there who don’t believe that the GOP is indeed waging a war on women. It makes me feel small and frightened because according to those people, I deserve to have my rights and my individual autonomy stripped away. According to the rich, white, primarily conservative males, we deserve to lose this war.

(via thenewwomensmovement)