Mike Pence Picks Pro-Life Lawmaker as Indiana Running Mate

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 21, 2012   |   2:45PM   |   Indianapolis, IN

Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence officially announced today that he has selected lawmaker Sue Ellspermann of Ferdinand to run for lieutenant governor. The selection of the pro-life woman is getting rave reviews fro the state’s leading pro-life group.

As a freshman member of the Indiana legislature, Ellspermann has compiled a 100% pro-life voting record including support for the historic pro-life gains in the 2011 legislature.

“This morning, I’m thrilled to announce that Sue Ellspermann is my choice as our candidate for Lt. Governor,” Pence said.

“While making my decision, I focused on finding a leader, an individual of high integrity who is capable of inspiring confidence in all Hoosiers. Since day one of our campaign, jobs have been job one. For that reason, it is critical our next Lt. Governor has business experience and an understanding of state government in order to best serve Hoosiers. I was fortunate to find all of these qualities and more in Sue,” he added.

“I encourage you to learn more about Sue at www.PenceLG2012.com, and join the team as Sue and I work to bring good jobs, great schools, safe streets and strong families to all corners of Indiana,” Pence said.

In 2011, Ellspermann was spotlighted by World magazine as an example of the new wave of pro-life women entering the policy arena.

“Sue Ellspermann is a solid pro-life voice who is already established as a leader on life issues at the Statehouse,” states Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter. “Her energetic and enthusiastic support for advancing pro-life policies in Indiana is appreciated, and we look forward to the perspective she will bring to communities across Indiana during this important election cycle.”

Ellspermann holds a bachelor’s degree and a PhD in industrial engineering from Purdue and the University of Louisville. She founded her own consulting business, which she ran for 20 years before joining the University of Southern Indiana in 2006 as the Director of the Center for Applied Research and Economic Development.

Pence faces Indiana’s Democratic candidate for governor, John Gregg, who recently alls himself a pro-life Democrat but attacked Pence for his efforts to revoke federal funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Pence was a leader in Congress to de-fund the biggest abortion business in the nation and the House of Representatives ultimately approved his measure to make the abortion giant operate without forcing taxpayers to fund its family planning efforts. The state of Indiana followed suit and Gov Mitch Daniels signed a bill that would eliminate state taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. That’s not something Gregg supports.

“It is reprehensible that John Gregg wants our tax dollars to fund Indiana’s largest abortion business Planned Parenthood.  His comments not only show that he will be Planned Parenthood’s best friend as governor, but that he will work overtime to expand its agenda into our schools and communities,” IRTL’s Fichter said.

“Gregg’s comments are a political attempt to fan the phony ‘war on women’ theme and are a complete misrepresentation of the issue,” Fichter added. “The Indiana legislature voted to end all state-directed funding for Planned Parenthood due to its involvement in killing over 5,000 unborn children per year in Indiana.  There are hundreds of alternative sources for healthcare for women in Indiana that do not involve the business of abortion, so to play the card that women are denied health care under Indiana’s defunding law is just a lie.”

During the debate over his amendment, Pence talked about the importance of not having federal funds flow to Planned Parenthood.

“By banning federal funding to Planned Parenthood, Congress has taken a stand for millions of Americans who believe their tax dollars should not be used to subsidize the largest abortion provider in America,” he said after the vote. “I commend my colleagues in both parties for taking a stand for taxpayers and a stand for life. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to support this legislation and end federal funding of Planned Parenthood once and for all.”

Pence led the way in fighting for the amendment to ensure that none of the federal funds in any program or department would go to the abortion business, which does more than 324,000 abortions annually and receives more than $363 million in federal, state and local taxpayer funds.

“I believe that ending an innocent human life is morally wrong,” Pence told his colleagues. “I also believe it is morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortion-like Planned Parenthood of America.”

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Pence talked about the myriad of ways in which Planned Parenthood has been proven to exploit women.

“The headlines and years of investigations speak for themselves,” he said. “In 2002, Planned Parenthood was found civilly liable in Arizona for failure to report statutory rape. In 2008 it violated reporting laws in Indiana and California. In 2009 it instructed a girl in Tennessee to lie about her age so she could get an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. Recently in California, Washington, New Jersey, and New York, Planned Parenthood clinics have been accused of fraudulent accounting or overbilling practices. And last week, undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood employees apparently willing to aid human sex traffickers by coaching them on how to falsify documents and secure secret abortions for their underage prostitutes.”

“As the father of two teenage daughters, there are not words strong enough to portray my contempt of this pattern of apparent fraud and abuse by Planned Parenthood,” he said.