COLUMBUS — State Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, 85th District, co-sponsored House Bill 294, which was recently introduced to redirect funding to state programs and Defund Planned Parenthood.
Videos that have been recently released have brought into light how imperative it is that we discontinue supporting Planned Parenthood.
“I have long been concerned about tax dollars going to an organization that dismembers hundreds of thousands of American children each year. This must stop.” said Vitale.
“Twenty-three thousand per year,” Vitale said, “this is how many babies are aborted each year in the state of Ohio. Many of these abortions are performed by organizations that are partially funded with your tax payer money.
“Some have said this is about denying women access to needed health care,” he said. “First, I would ask, does the baby think this is needed health care? Second, I would add that, there are 700 Planned Parenthood facilities throughout the U.S. and 9,000 Community Health Center facilities. It’s time to redirect all taxpayer funding to these facilities that vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood and provide fuller services for families.
“While Ohioans are divided over abortion, we see common ground quickly forming to ensure Ohioans are not forced to send their tax dollars to an organization that sifts through aborted babies’ parts to see which organs can be salvaged and sold so they can buy a Lamborghini,” Vitale added. “Selling baby parts is only the latest scandal for an organization that also faces allegations of covering up sex trafficking, engaging in sex selection abortion, and even violating the law which criminalizes partial-birth abortion. What’s next, full-intact babies being sold?”
Planned Parenthood receives in excess of half-a-billion dollars each year, more than 40 percent of its operating budget, from taxpayer revenues at the federal, state, and local level. The bill requires the Ohio Department of Health to ensure that no state taxpayer money is used to support an organization that performs or promotes elective abortions.
