Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Matt Bevin Pledges to De-Fund Planned Parenthood

State   |   Sarah Zagorski   |   Aug 7, 2015   |   12:48PM   |   Frankfort, KY

In Kentucky, gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin has announced that he intends to defund Planned Parenthood if he wins the election. Bevin is the GOP’s nominee for governor and will be facing pro-abortion Jack Conway in the general election. Currently, Conway is the attorney general for Kentucky and the Democratic nominee.

In a press release, Bevin said, “As Governor, I will direct my Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services not to distribute federal taxpayer dollars from that department to Planned Parenthood clinics. Federal taxpayer dollars appropriated to Planned Parenthood flow through the Governor’s administration. As Governor, I will prevent those dollars from being distributed, and order them returned to the federal government.”

In 2014, Bevin ran for U.S Senate but was defeated by pro-life challenger Mitch McConnell. However, during his campaign he was not shy about his pro-life views. His official Senate campaign website said, “Matt is pro-life and believes we have a duty to protect unborn human life. In the U.S. Senate, Matt will vote against any bill that contains federal funding or other material support for abortions.”

The website also highlighted Bevin’s desire to advance adoption efforts in Kentucky. It said, “[Matt] also believes we must encourage a culture of life that makes adoption easier. Matt is the proud father of nine children, four of whom he and his wife adopted from Ethiopia. He has also been a long-time, significant supporter of orphanages around the world, investing both his dollars and his time.”

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As LifeNews previously reported, in a letter to current Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway, 44 legislators requested that they open an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s abortion and organ harvesting practices.

So far, 12 states have responded to the Planned Parenthood videos and launched investigations into their abortion and organ harvesting business including South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, KansasMissouri, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana. And three states have revoked taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood’s abortion business, including Alabama, New Hampshire and Louisiana.

The state investigations are a response to horrifying footage of Planned Parenthood executives negotiating the sale of aborted babies, admitting to using altered abortion procedures to obtain salable body parts and casually discussing “less crunchy” methods for procuring fetal “tissue.”

On August 2nd, the Center for Medical released a fifth video showing the Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Melissa Farrell, bragging about the Texas Planned Parenthood branch’s long history with fetal tissue sales, including its ability to deliver fully intact aborted babies.

Last month, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health & Family Services said they gave over $330,000 in taxpayer funding through local health departments to “Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.” Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Gov. Beshear and Attorney General Conway will grant the legislators request because they are both pro-abortion.

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