Arkansas Legislator Wants to De-Fund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 8, 2013   |   7:11PM   |   Little Rock, AR

Fresh from overriding two gubernatorial vetoes to ban abortions after 12 and 20 weeks of pregnancy by putting two pieces of pro-life legislation into law, an Arkansas state legislator wants to approve a measure to de-fund Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading abortion business and, even as the abortion numbers and rates decline nationwide, it is doing a record number of abortions on unborn babies.

State Sen. Jason Rapert, who was behind the 12-week ban, hopes to at least cut off taxpayer funding for the abortion giant, according to a new AP report.

Rapert, who was behind the 12-week ban, now wants to cut all public funding to Planned Parenthood. And the state’s top anti-abortion advocacy group is urging lawmakers to ban providers from remotely administering the abortion pill via a video hookup — a practice they’ve derided as “webcam abortions.”

Rapert is now calling for the state to prohibit any state or federal funds from going toward any entity that performs abortions. It’s a measure that’s aimed at cutting off public funding to Planned Parenthood, which doesn’t perform surgical abortions in Arkansas but distributes the abortion pill at two facilities in the state. Arkansas’ only clinic that performs surgical abortions is in Little Rock.

The proposal would cut off money Planned Parenthood receives from the state for non-abortion programs, including federal grants disbursed by the state to the group for education programs in Little Rock schools on sexually transmitted diseases.

“I’m glad for them to do education and do those sorts of things, but I do not like them utilizing funds, indirectly even, to support their efforts with abortion in our state,” Rapert, a Republican from Conway, said Thursday.

Planned Parenthood officials vowed to fight the legislation.

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Rapert won re-election last year after defeating a Democratic lawmaker who chaired the House committee that rejected several anti-abortion measures in the 2011 session.

“For years in the state of Arkansas, these types of bills have been filed but have never been able to see the light of day because they were killed in committee who were not pro-life,” Rapert said. “That’s why you see these bills making it today.”

Republican Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View said she’s working on wording of the proposed ban and expected to finalize it before the Monday deadline to file legislation.

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