Planned Parenthood to Expand Abortion Biz in Nebraska, Iowa

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 15, 2011   |   12:55PM   |   Lincoln, NE

Fresh from a victory in the Senate to preserve its massive taxpayer funding, a local affiliate of the Planned Parenthood abortion business announced today it plans to expand in Nebraska and Iowa.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced today it will open new centers in 12 communities in the Midwestern states over the next five years — including a third location in Lincoln, the Nebraska state capital and the location of the University of Nebraska. PPH president Jill June announced the expansion and launched a $11.5 million campaign to raise funds for the new centers that will add to the 25 the abortion business already operates in the two states.

Planned Parenthood would open new centers, which would either do abortions or refer for them, in Grand Island, Fremont, North Platte, Hastings, Norfolk and Kearney in Nebraska, and Carter Lake, Clinton, Mason City, Muscatine, Ottumwa and Marshalltown in Iowa. It did not say which centers would do abortions on site, offer the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug which has killed 13 women and injured 1,100 more, or which would only refer for abortions.

“It’s ambitious,” June told AP of Planned Parenthood’s expansion plans. “We are going forward in western Nebraska because people need us there as well.”

She told the Associated Press her Planned Parenthood affiliate has already raised $7 million of the funds necessary to expand and is expected to reach the goal in the next five years. June also indicated the abortion business will announce the purchase of a new site in Lincoln in the next 30 days.

The announcement came in association with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new abortion center in Omaha that Planned Parenthood put in place following late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart’s decision to start working in Maryland doing abortions after the state legislature approved a bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the scientific evidence showing unborn children can feel extreme pain. Carhart did abortions both before and after that point in pregnancy and he still runs his Omaha-area abortion business in Bellevue, but the number of abortions has dropped and Planned Parenthood appears ready to come in and attempt to expand its business at Carhart’s expense.

Julie Schmit-Albin, Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life, talked with LifeNews.com about the expansion plans.

“Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s announcement that it plans to expand to six Nebraska mid-sized cities, should impel the Legislature to pass LB 521 this session,” she said. “Nebraska needs to stop Planned Parenthood’s web cam chemical abortions before they start in college towns around the state. The  timing of their announcement about expansion in Nebraska should compel senators to act before they find local Planned Parenthoods doing abortions in their own backyards.”

Schmit-Albin said the legislation “requires that the abortionist must be physically present when doing an RU-486 chemical abortion and not sitting in Omaha or Lincoln on a computer hook-up.”

RU-486 chemical abortions done via web cam help Planned Parenthood overcome two of its major obstacles: lack of access across the state and dwindling numbers  of abortion practitioner who can perform surgical abortions, added Schmit-Albin. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has done over 2,000 RU-486 chemical abortions in Iowa via web cam (remote computer hook-up) since 2008.

“We said in the hearing on LB 521 that Planned Parenthood’s new business model relies on expanding into un-reached areas, particularly those in rural areas that have a college age population,” the Nebraska pro-life leader said. “If they can set up web cam chemical abortions in these six new communities, the abortion rate in Nebraska will increase and young women may end up in local emergency rooms with any complications from RU-486 which takes several days to complete an abortion.”

She concluded: “The Legislature has the ability to impede the expansion of Planned Parenthood’s abortion business in Nebraska by passing LB 521 and Nebraska Right to Life will ratchet up contact with pro-lifers across the state to call their senators.”

LB 521 was introduced by Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln and named a personal priority bill by Senator Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins.